If you’re a fan of smart technology, you may have had some sleepless nights lately.
That’s because Alexa, the artificial intelligence (AI) behind US company Amazon’s Echo smart speakers, has been “letting out an automatic, creepy (令人毛骨悚然的) cackle,” for no apparent reason, according to BBC News.
Many social media users shared their stories of Alexa scaring them with the seemingly unprompted laugh.
“Every time Alexa laughs, an angel dies,” Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk joked on social media.
On March 7, Amazon released an update that fixed the problem, saying that the laugh was triggered (引发) by Echo devices mistakenly thinking that users had said the command “Alexa, laugh”.
However, what should have been a funny story raised the ongoing topic of man versus machine.
With the rise of artificial and robotic technology, “Digital machines have started to demonstrate (展示) broad abilities in pattern recognition, complex communication, and other fields that used to only belong to human,” wrote Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee in their book The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. They believe that AI will “do more and more, and our lives will get better”.
However, ever since the earliest days of AI, there have been concerns that some day, software will take over the world, leaving the fate of humans unknown.
“With artificial intelligence we are summoning (召唤) the demon ,” Musk told students during a meeting at MIT in 2014. “If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful.”
Many scientists have shared the same concern. The late British physicist Stephen Hawking said at a technology conference in Portugal in November that “computers can, in theory, imitate human intelligence, and exceed it… AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization.”
If creators are to safely control AI, however, Hawking suggested that they “employ best practice and effective management”.
“I am an optimist and I believe that we can create AI for the good of the world,” he said at the conference. “We simply need to be aware of the dangers, identify them, employ the best possible practice and management, and prepare for its consequences well in advance.”
1.The story of Alexa is intended to _______.
A. lead into the discussion about humans and AI
B. prove artificial intelligence has its weaknesses
C. inform readers of the development of AI
D. show how Alexa’s problem was fixed
2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 9 probably mean?
A. scream B. laughter
C. devil D. soldier
3.What message do Brynjolfsson and McAfee probably deliver in their book?
A. The development of AI could threaten our survival one day.
B. There is no need to worry about the rise of AI.
C. Robots will never match humans in complex communication.
D. Humans’ lives will be greatly improved with the help of robots.
4.What can we infer from Stephen Hawking’s words?
A. AI is not as intelligent and efficient as expected.
B. Careful management is the key to controlling AI.
C. AI is the greatest invention in the history of our civilization.
D. AI will be employed in all aspects of our lives in the future.
Walk down any British shopping street and you will find shops with strange names. Why is the opticians (眼镜店) called “Eyediology”? And who decided to name the butchers (肉铺) “Meat you there” ? What’s going on?
Puns are jokes based on words that sound the same. You’ve probably noticed that many words in English which are spelt in different ways and have different meanings are pronounced in the same way. Think about the name of the restaurant: “plaice” is a kind of fish so our restaurant is “the place” to eat fish. Butchers sell meat – so we’ll “meet you there” – and opticians look after our eyes in a scientific way – so eyed – iology (ideology) is a name that fits. Hairdressers shear (cut) your locks (hair) and comb it – say the three words together quickly and you have the name of a famous detective. In shop titles and adverts, puns are used to get our attention.
Puns are very old. The ancient Egyptians and Romans liked to pun. Shakespeare uses many puns in his plays – King Richard the Third (the son of York) brings “glorious summer” – just think about a word that has the same sound as son.
Many people enjoy a good pun (pun / fun for all the family!) – others hate them. Puns aren’t really designed to make you laugh. Here are some puns that might leave you asking for no more puns please. Have you heard about the bears who voted in the North Poll? Or the cheetah (印度豹) who couldn’t be trusted at cards? Or how about the clever little Australian animal that had lots of koalaifications or the camel (骆驼) with no humps (驼峰) that was called Humphrey (and so was free of humps...)
Puns can be funny but they sometimes make important points. Here’s a fashion tip: “skinny genes make skinny jeans”: so don’t worry if your jeans don’t fit . Look at your parents!
1.Where can you probably enjoy fish and chips, judging from the name?
A. Shearlock Combs.
B. Eyediology.
C. The Plaice to Come.
D. Meat you there.
2.Why King Richard the Third used “glorious summer” to describe himself?
A. Because he thought he is as hot as summer.
B. Because he thought he is the greastest son of the King York.
C. Because it sounds like the word “son”.
D. Because he was born in summer.
3.How does the author make his point in the article?
A. By giving examples.
B. By making comparisons.
C. By following the order of time.
D. By describing causes and effects.
4.In the last paragraph, the fashion tip want express that ______.
A. Buy a tight-fitting jeans can help you stay in shape.
B. Your genes decide what jeans you like
C. It’s your family’s fault to be too fat to put the jeans on.
D. Jeans consist of your different genes.
Messages in honor of Stan Lee are pouring in on social media and other online sites.
Lee is the creator of famous comic book characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Black Panther and others. He died in Los Angeles, California, Monday. He was 95 years old.
Marvel Entertainment and its parent company, Walt Disney, posted a video about the late writer, editor and publisher on their websites.
Disney chairman and chief Bob Iger said Lee is "a super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world." He compared Lee to his comic book characters with "the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect."
Lee was born Stanley Martin Leiber in New York City. He began writing for comic books at 19. He wrote under the name Stan Lee. He explained that he used a false name because he wanted to write a serious and great piece of literature someday. He did not want his link with comic books to be known when that happened. But it never did happen. As the pride in his work grew, he decided to legally change his name to Stan Lee.
Lee’s comic book heroes stand apart from its competitor DC, the company that produced the seemingly perfect heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman. Lee’s character often had super power,but they also had weaknesses and moral failings.In a piece for Marvel in 1969, Lee discussed the importance of creating these balanced characters. Nobody is all good, or all bad, he wrote, like Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. He is a deeply gifted inventor with serious mental health issues; or, Peter Parker, a sensitive, brainy high-school student who has no idea how to deal with the frightening abilities he gets from the bite of a radioactive spider. Even Steve Rogers, whose Captain America was the most Superman-like of the Marvel group, had problems. Rejected as a candidate for the armed forces, he volunteers to take a "supersoldier" substance to make him a super-fighting machine.
Actor Chris Evans has played that character in several Hollywood films. He posted a tribute to Captain America’s creator on Twitter Monday. “There will never be another Stan Lee,” he wrote. Actor, writer and funny man Seth Rogen never played one of Lee’s characters but he remembered him with thanks in a tweet. “Thank you Stan Lee for making people who feel different realize they are special,” he wrote.
1.Stan Lee creat many famous comic character,except ________
A. Iron Man B. Superman
C. Captain America D. Spider Man
2.Why Lee used the false name when he begin to writing comic book?
A. In honor of the city where he was born.
B. The name was a writer who he admired.
C. He was proud of the name.
D. He didn’t want to be known as a comic book writer.
3.What makes Lee’s character different from others?
A. They often had super power.
B. They were balance in diet.
C. They always saved the world.
D. They looked like a real man, not god.
4.The author wrote this text to ________
A. introduce the characters of Lee’s famous comic book.
B. in memory of Stan Lee.
C. share the readers the achievements of Stan Lee.
D. be as a biography of Stan Lee.
Starting Cycling
We have two services designed to give people the confidence and knowledge to cycle successfully.
Lessons
All our instructors have been trained to National Standards level of “Bikeability”. This means you will be trained to a standard consistent across the whole country.
There are 3 levels of skills to progress through. Children would start with levels 1 & 2, progressing from the playground or park to cycle on less busy local roads. Teenager and adult beginners can also learn levels 1 & 2 in an off-road and quiet environment.
Confident teenagers and adults can broaden their skills by learning level 3, using multi-lane (多道) roads and larger roundabouts (环岛). We provide both a complete package of lessons for the beginner or individual lessons tailored to the client. You can ride a bike but don’t feel confident about right turns on multi-lane roads. Whatever the need we can address and practice until perfect!
Everyone can be taught to ride a bike!
We train both adults and children.
We cover London Zones 1 & 2
The cost is ￡30 per hour.
Guided Ride
We know that riding on the roads in London can be scary, and if you have to navigate (确定行车路线) as well it can become a real hard task! The Guided Ride service takes all the stress out of it for you by providing the following:
Route planned in advance to suit your skill level. Route map provided to you.
Cycle and equipment checked. We will teach you a simple method to check basic roadworthiness (车辆性能) of your bike that you can perform on a weekly basis.
Route discussed and focus given to any areas requiring special attention.
Cycle along with the instructor close behind. Here the traffic can be controlled by the instructor and rider observed.
Occasionally stopping to discuss events.
We currently cover London Zones 1 & 2. Please contact us if your requirements are outside of these areas.
Cost ￡30
1.Where can Level 1 & 2 lessons for adult beginners be carried out？
A. On multi-lane roads
B. Near large roundabouts
C. On busy local roads
D. Off road
2.What service does the Guided Ride mainly provide?.
A. They ensure users ride safely in London Zones 1 & 2
B. They check your cycle and equipment every week.
C. They let users experience the busiest road in London.
D. They help you to be familiar with London roads
3.Who is the text probably intended for ?.
A. Parents loving cycling
B. Children and teenagers
C. Travelers in London
D. Bike riding lovers.
The actor was waving his sword in the street and it ________ missed the crowds around him who were mostly his fans.
A. narrowly B. nearly
C. hardly D. closely
Practising Chinese Kungfu can not only ________ one’s strength, but also develop one’s character.
A. bring up B. take up
C. build up D. pull up
