"If popular culture has taught us anything, it is that someday mankind must face and destroy the growing harm caused by robots." Author Daniel Wilson's description of How to Survive a Robot Uprising seems like it is straight out of a robot disaster movie. "The problem with cleverly-designed robots is that we become dependent on them," says Wilson.
The classic movie Westworld describes an amusement park where, after a safety error, the robots spend a killing period of time. Yet in reality, statistics show that as technology improves there is a trend towards increased safety. Similarly, public transport systems using computers and machines are believed to be more reliable than those in human control, and a robot-assisted operation is more precise and results in fewer medical problems.
But where does the idea of robots being cruel and harmful come from? "Robots were pop culture figures before they existed," says Wilson. "They were frightening creatures in novels. When robots really started existing, they already had this image(形象) set up not based on reality. That's exactly what happened—a movie monster became real."
Recent reports talked of a robot "attack" on a worker in Sweden. Even if these references to an attack rather than an error are meant in joke, this only makes the problem worse. "We're so interested in the robot-attack storyline that it can influence the way real robot-safety problems are discussed," says one journalist. But with robots becoming increasingly advanced, is it going to come a time when an error could become an unkind and cruel attack?
"Robots are just a bunch of metal," says one engineer. "If you are scared, then you are scared of the people building them." So what do engineers think we should be afraid of? Nanotechnology is the science which involves developing and making extremely small but very powerful machines. Some engineers suggest that with these new developments come "severe dangers" if they are used inappropriately. Its theory goes that "the small size and rapid potential of nano-built weaponry（武器）will make it difficult to control and hard to keep out of the hands of terrorists. "And this is a view shared by some artificial intelligence experts. "With robots...if it makes an error, you can unplug it and shut it down. But if you have lots of nano-built weapons, which are extremely small, there is no way you can do the same thing."
1.In the first paragraph, Daniel Wilson ________.
A. confirms the existence of robots
B. introduces the development of robots
C. states that robots are potentially dangerous
D. suggests that we should be dependent on robots
2.People have come to think of robots as something bad because ________.
A. designers of the first robots spread this idea
B. reality shows they are the same as in the movies
C. movie audience continue to give this impression
D. they were originally described this way in novels
3.The author believes that the report of the robot attack in Sweden ________.
A. is intended as a joke
B. serves as a serious warning
C. presents the technical problem
D. expresses sympathy for the worker
4.What are experts afraid of when considering nanotechnology?
A. Robots could use it inappropriately.
B. It could make robots harder to control.
C. It could be more dangerous than robots.
D. There'll be more terrorist attacks because of it.
Edmund Percival Hillary was one of the greatest explorers of the twentieth century. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1919. He discovered an interest in mountain climbing while he was still in high school and began climbing New Zealand's Southern Alps.
Like his father, Hillary earned his living as a beekeeper. However, he continued to climb mountains. His goal was to climb Mt. Everest, which is the highest mountain in the world. By the early 1950s, several expeditions（探险队）had attempted to reach the summit of Everest, but all had failed. Then, in 1953, Hillary and a Nepalese climber named Tenzing Norgay became the first two people to reach the top of the world.
Hillary's spirit of exploration was not satisfied. He joined an expedition to Antarctica and reached the South Pole in 1958. He also made an expedition up the Ganges River to its source in the Himalayas. Sir Edmund Hillary was a brave adventurer. He went where no man or woman had gone before.
Although Hillary was best known as the young man who climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest in the 1950s, he continued his journeys to far-off places into his senior years. For instance, in his mid-sixties Hillary flew to the North Pole with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Moreover, Hillary authored many books. However, his most lasting gift, perhaps, was the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust（信托基金）. It raised millions of dollars and contributed to schools, hospitals and many other public improvements in the Sherpa villages of Nepal. In January 2008, Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88.
Despite being a great adventurer and known for the treasure he left Sir Edmund Hillary always modestly referred to himself as a simple beekeeper from New Zealand.
1.Hillary was interested in ________ when he was in high school.
A. mountain-climbing B. bee-keeping
C. money-raising D. story-writing
2.Hillary became well-known because ________.
A. he reached both the South Pole and the North Pole
B. he was the first to reach the top of Mt. Everest
C. he lived in places where no humans had gone
D. he made a lot of money as a beekeeper
3.We can learn from the passage that Hillary is ________.
A. outgoing and fearless
B. talented and honest
C. determined and caring
D. hardworking and careful
When the telephone rings late at night, most women guess it must be one of only four or five people calling. A sister? Maybe. An emergency? Possibly. A mother? Probably not at that time of night. Much more probably it is a close female friend calling to tell you that she has split up with her boyfriend again or perhaps simply that a good movie has just started on TV.
At a time when families are spread far and wide and marriages often end in divorce, friendships are becoming more and more important. Erika, a 32-year-old lawyer, is strengthened by her ten-year friendship with her married friend Jane. “I was very sick one night, so I called Jane at about 3:00 a.m. to talk about it,” she says. “She was very supportive and even came over to take me to the doctor’s the next morning.”
As American TV shows like Friends, which follows the lives of a very close group of young friends, have become more popular, many of us are beginning to see the value of such friendships. TV shows like this tell us that our romantic relationships may not last, but we need to keep in touch with our close friends if we want to survive.
A TV show called Real Women is about the lives and relationships of five former school friends. In this show, family, husbands, and work are all less important than friendships. One of its actresses says the show reflects her own experience. “Friendship is about commitment. I don’t see some of my friends for ages but when we get together, it is as if time hasn’t passed.”
This is true of Erika and Jane’s friendship. With Erika’s family 200 miles away，it is Jane who keeps a spare set of keys to Erika’s apartment and waters her plants whenever she is away. “Having Jane around gives me a certain amount of freedom. It is not the kind of thing that you could ask anyone to do, but she knows I would do the same for her.” Erika feels that because she no longer sees her family every day, she now enjoys a closer relationship with her best friend. Jane, who may move to a different city soon, is worried about leaving such a support system of friends. “My friends have more to do with my life than my parents and, therefore, I don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining things to them. Friends are more up to date with what is happening.”
1.According to the passage, a late-night phone call for most women is probably from .
A. a friend B. a relative
C. a stranger D. a doctor
2.TV shows like Friends tell us that .
A. marriages with friends often end up in failure
B. families and work are as important as friends
C. close friends help us face problems in life
D. friendship fades as time goes by
3.From the passage, we can learn that Erika and Jane .
A. live far away from each other
B. have been friends for 32 years
C. spend a lot of time explaining things
D. trust and support each other in daily life
4.Which of the statements will the author probably agree with?
A. A near friend is more helpful than a faraway relative.
B. Both marriage and friendship demand commitment.
C. However far away we’re, parents worry about us.
D. Long distance makes the hearts closer.
I left home to support my sister in her efforts to present a music festival.She lives on the other side of the world, and I went to visit her,not wanting to leave and feeling like I was leaving home against my will.However,I wanted to show her my support because she is my only sister.
So I boarded the plane in mid-August,and hated the long flight.I arrived,tired and hungry.I had left my husband of 2 years,alone,in our old New Orleans house.
I was all set and ready to perform for my sister for the music festival on Sunday morning when I received a call from Chicago.The hurricane was predicted to hit our city,and many people had already evacuated,but my husband chose to stay behind.He could not get a call to me on the other side of the world,but he could call his cousin in Chicago.He gave his cousin a message for me,that he would be just fine,and not to worry.
As the day wore on,I finally took the stage in front of hundreds of Europeans,and I realized,thanks to CNN,that New Orleans was under water.
I performed,hoping that my husband would survive.And I performed perfectly.The audience stood and applauded.I left the stage and went straight to the TV.I saw the street sign near my home,of Humanity Street,but nothing below it,except water.
In the days that followed,I found out that my house,my car,my clothes,my furniture,everything that I'd left behind was gone...but not my husband.He survived by riding on the rear bumper（后保险杆）of a VW bus,holding on to the overhead luggage rack,in the pouring rain,down the highway from New Orleans,half-way to Baton Rouge.The rest of the journey was a long walk,but he survived.
By the first week of September,I flew back to the Baton Rouge airport,and hugged my husband.Since then,our relationship has grown deeper;we have completely rebuilt our house,bought a new car,bought new furniture and new clothes and joined an inspirational,spirit-filled community.
1.Why did the author leave home?
A. To look after her sister. B. To attend a music festival.
C. To watch a performance. D. To visit her husband's cousin.
2.How did the author feel when she left home?
A. Disappointed. B. Worried.
C. Tired. D. Unwilling.
3.What does the underlined word "evacuated" mean?
A. Gathered B. Struggled
C. Escaped D. Hid
4.What might be the title for the passage?
A. Lost it All,Gained Even More B. Once Gone,Never Returned
C. Caught in the Hurricane D. Trapped in a Dilemma
假定你是李华，当假期来临的时候，越来越多的人们选择去名校参观，但有的人反对将校园变为旅游区。请你就此现象给英语笔友Peter写封信阐述你的看法。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.信的开头和结尾己给出，不计入总词数；
3.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
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Best,
Li Hua
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短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误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（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
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。
Building a good relationship with our teachers benefit us all.Teachers showed love,concern and understand for us students m study and life.We students can always seek support and advice from us.In this case,an ideal relationship is of Vital important.In my opinion,this relationship should be one filling with love and respect,so we can exchange ideas free with teachers.If we students trust eachers and express our feelings clearly,or they will become our friend.Only through constant efforts we enjoy a warm relationship between teachers and students.
