Siri is an artificial intelligence (AI) that you can carry around in the pocket, where it waits patiently to be told what to do. In the week we spent together, my AI assistant has performed admirably in finding me restaurants, or the location of the nearest coffee shop.
A typical command might be: “Reserve a table for two at a good French restaurant in San Francisco.” Siri responds by presenting a list of top-rated restaurants that can be booked on OpenTable.com. If you say which time you want, it can book you a table without your lifting a finger. In some ways Siri is just a fancy front-end (前端程序) to the 35 sites it can connect to, from taxi booking sites to movie review databases. But what’s new is the way it can analyze the intentions of its master or mistress and use those sites to put them into action.
Siri attaches probabilities to the explanation of each word and cross-references (对照检索) with your location and other data, some of which you must provide yourself. To send email reminders, Siri obviously needs to know your email address. To “find me the flower shop closest to work”, it needs to know where you work. To pay bills or buy airline tickets, it would need access to your credit card.
That raises the question of how far we are willing to trust a piece of software that can go and do things for us based on what it “thinks” we mean, a topic that occupies some engineers working on artificial intelligence. The more data, and power, you give your virtual assistant, the more damage it could do. Siri may be simple, and always shows its explanation of a command before carrying it out. But it gives users a preview of a new balance between privacy, trust and convenience that the expansion of AI into everyday life is likely to develop.
1.What is Siri?
A. A digital e-book reader.
B. A music-sharing software.
C. A voice-controlled website.
D. An artificial intelligence software.
2.When asked “do I need my umbrella today?”, what will Siri probably respond with?
A. The list of umbrella makers.
B. The list of umbrella shops.
C. The local weather forecast.
D. The local climate conditions.
3.Siri is new in that it has the ability ______.
A. to understand what you speak
B. to connect a lot of websites
C. to give a variety of commands
D. to create computerized database
4.What question does Paragraph 4 answer?
A. Does Siri think itself? B. Can I trust you, Siri?
C. Is Siri simple for use? D. Will Siri be popular?
For the last 10 years, job listing site CareerBuilder has put out a list called “The Most Unbelievable Excuses for Calling in Sick.” For example, an employee said he couldn’t come in because his false teeth flew out the window while he was driving down the highway. The excuses were gathered through a survey that ran among 3,000 workers and 2,000 hiring managers.
The list is entertaining but there is a more serious issue hidden in this story. Federal law does not require private employers to give any paid sick leave, making the US the only one of the world’s wealthiest nations that doesn’t guarantee workers this right. Since 2006, cities and states have been adopting their own paid sick leave laws. California, Washington. DC and 13 cities including New York now require many employers to provide some sort of paid sick leave. But according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 39% of private employees still have no access to paid days off. In the CareerBuilder survey, 38% of respondents said they go to work when they’re sick because they can’t afford to miss a day’s pay. The survey also shows that workers are taking a risk when they come up with far-fetched excuses. Nearly one in five employers says they have fired an employee for calling in sick with a fake excuse. If you’re spending the day at the beach while pretending to be ill, don’t post about it on Facebook. Nearly one in four employers (24%) has caught an employee lying about being sick by checking social media.
The motto of this story: If you really are sick, don’t come to work and spread your bacteria around the office. But if you just want to stay home, go with “I’m running a fever.” rather than one of these ridiculous excuses.
1.The underlined word “far-fetched” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. impossible to find B. likely to be true
C. difficult to believe D. easy to believe
2.What problem is exposed in the survey?
A. Many employees have no access to paid sick leave.
B. Private employers make their workers work extra hours.
C. Some employees are not satisfied with their boss.
D. Private employers sometimes break the Federal law.
3.An employee will run the risk of being fired if he ______.
A. asks for sick leave
B. lies about being sick
C. posts his holiday on Facebook
D. spreads bacteria around the office
4.What will the author present following the last paragraph?
A. A list of survey data.
B. A list of serious issues.
C. A list of reasonable facts.
D. A list of ridiculous excuses.
Of course, she wasn’t really my aunt and, out of fear, I never called her that to her face. I only referred to her as “My Aunt Fannie” because the name always made my father laugh quietly and gave my mother cause to look strictly at both of us—at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior. I enjoyed both reactions so I looked for every opportunity to work the name into as many conversations as possible.
As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fanny make the best blueberry jam (蓝莓酱) ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. She was well-known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with others. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive, she never made the jam without Aunt Fannie in our kitchen to direct the process and preserve the secret.
Each August, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie’s visit. One year, after I had helped with the jam process Aunt Fannie gave me a coin and then made me promise that I would never spend it. “Hold onto this coin,” she said, “and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first coin, given to me by my grandmother.” So I kept the coin in a small box and waited to become rich.
I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the coin from Aunt Fannie. In people’s eyes Aunt Fannie's success resulted from that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither have significantly made me become a rich person, but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build.
1.Why did the author always use the name “My Aunt Fannie” in conversations?
A. She was frightened of Aunt Fannie.
B. She liked Aunt Fannie’s recipe.
C. She enjoyed her parents’ reactions.
D. She greatly respected “Aunt Fannie”.
2.The underlined word “she” in Paragraph 2 refers to ______.
A. Aunt Fannie
B. the author’s grandmother
C. the author’s mother
D. Aunt Fannie’s grandmother
3.In the last paragraph, the author encourages readers to______.
A. hold onto the first coin in life
B. make as many friends as possible
C. make money with their own hands
D. spend more time with family and friends
4.What could be the best title for this passage?
A. The Key to Success
B. Blueberry Jam Recipe
C. A Fortune Built from a Coin
D. A Relationship of Trust
Alice Kwak
2551 Lancey Street, Toronto
Ontario M2O 2R5
P. (566) 734-4470
E-mail: akwak@cvva.ca
Ms. Rory Saunders
Human Resources Manager
Trinity Client Publications
881 Second Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M20 3K2
Dear Ms. Saunders,
I am writing in regard to the Administrative Assistant position that is available at Trinity Client Publications.
I have just completed the Office Administration program at Frayer College and am excited to try my skills in the real world. I have a good knowledge of basic computer programs, and have writing, editing, and critical thinking skills. I work well with tight deadlines, and am a highly-motivated self-starter.
At past jobs I have checked and corrected letters, taken notes, and made plans. I also communicated with customers. I am efficient and accurate in all my work. Please consult the enclosed resume（简历） for additional information about my work experience.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. If you have any questions you can reach me at (566) 734-4470 or at akwak@cvva.ca.
Sincerely,
Alice Kwak
1.Who is Rory Saunders?
A. A copy editor.
B. A Job Center employee.
C. A human resources manager.
D. A teacher at Frayer College.
2.In which of the areas does Alice Kwak claim to have experience?
A. Using database. B. Editing letters.
C. Arranging travel. D. Organizing meetings.
3.How does Alice describe herself?
A. A creative manager. B. A famous writer.
C. A team player. D. A self-starter.
书面表达
假设你是李华，是我校一位高三学生。最近你收到来自友好学校朋友Tom的邀请，请你下个周去他们学校参加文化交流活动并介绍中国的传统绘画。但是你和其他高三学生一样在忙于准备期末考试，不得不谢绝他的邀请，请根据下面的要点给Tom写一封回信。
要点：
1. 谢绝Tom的邀请；
2. 说明你的理由；
3. 推荐你的同学Mary参加，并说明原因。
注意：
1. 词数为100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 信的开头已为你写好(不计入你所写词数)。
Dear Tom,
Thank you very much for your invitation.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Best wishes.
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：在错的词下画一横线，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。
Patience is greatly important in our daily life. Once, I waited for a bus come at a stop.30 minutes passed, but no bus came. Both upset and annoying , I decided to walk by foot. But no sooner had I left when the bus arrived. I thought if I had waited for one more minutes , I would have caught it. If I chose to take a next bus，I would have to wait for another 30 minutes. Only then do I realize my problem. Being impatient will possible waste all the effort that we have put it in. Now, whenever I am close to losing my impatience, I will think of this experience.
