Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making it possible for companies to monitor workers’ behavior in great detail and in real time. Start to slack off (懈怠), and AI could talk to your boss.
One company offering such services is London-based start-up Status Today. Its AI platform relies on a regular supply of employee data, including everything from the files you access to when you use a key card. From this, it builds a picture of how employees normally function and signals any unusual performance. The idea is to spot when someone might become a security risk by doing something different from their usual behavioral patterns. “All of this gives us fingerprint of a user, so if we think the fingerprint doesn’t match, we raise a warning”, says Mircea Dumitrescu, the company’s chief technology officer.
The system also aims to catch employee actions that could accidentally cause a security breach (漏洞), like opening malware (恶意软件).“We’re not monitoring if your computer has a virus.” says Dumitrescu. “We’re monitoring human behaviors.”
But catching the security breach means monitoring everyone, and the AI can also be used to track employee productivity. “It seems like they are just using the reputation of AI to give an air of lawfulness to old-fashioned workplace surveillance (监视),” says Javier Ruiz Diaz of digital campaigning organization the Open Rights Group. “You have a right to privacy and you shouldn’t be expected to give that up at work.”
Exactly how companies use the system will be up to them, but it’s hard to shake the picture of an AI constantly looking over employees’ shoulders. “It will bother people, and that could be counterproductive if it affects their behavior,” says Paul Bemal at the University of East Anglia.
Phil Legg at the University of the West of England says it will never catch every security risk. “If people know they’re being monitored, they can change their behavior,” he says.
1.According to the text, AI monitors employees by ________.
A. taking pictures of them B. getting access to their data
C. signaling their usual performance D. catching their actions
2.What’s Javier Ruiz Diaz’s attitude towards the system?
A. Doubtful. B. Supportive.
C. Uncaring. D. Negative.
3.What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Security breach. B. Employees’ productivity.
C. The right to privacy. D. Workplace surveillance.
4.Phil Legg’s concern about the system suggests that ________.
A. it is too risky to be used at work
B. it will affect employees’ emotions
C. it may not be so effective as expected
D. it will encourage employee, productivity
Environmentalists said our planet was bound to die. Now one man says they are wrong. “Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape,” thundered a magazine article last year. “Species are being driven to die out at record rates, and the rivers are so poisonous that fish are floating on the surface, dead.”
But there’s growing belief that what everyone takes for granted is wrong: Things are actually getting better. A new book is about to overturn our most basic assumptions about the world’s environment. Rivers, seas, rain and the atmosphere are all getting better.
The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg, professor of statistics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, is an attack on the misleading claims of environmental groups, and the “bad news” culture that makes people believe everything is getting worse.
Now the attacks are increasingly coming from left-wing environmentalists such as Lomborg, a former member of Greenpeace. The accusation is that, although the environment is improving, green groups — with profits of hundreds of millions of pounds a year — are using scare tactics (战术) to gain donations. Lomborg’s book doesn’t deny global warming — probably the biggest environmental threat — but destroys almost every other environmental claim with many official statistics.
The Worldwatch Institute claims that deforestation(采伐森林) has been speeding over the last 30 years. Buy Lomborg says that is simply rubbish. Since the dawn of agriculture the world has lost about 20% of its forest cover, but in recent decades the forest area’s depleting has come to a stop. According to UN figures, the area of forests has remained almost steady, at about 30% of total land area, since 1940s. Forests in countries such as the US, UK and Canada have actually been expanding over the past 40 years. Despite all the warnings the Amazon rainforest has only shrunk by about 15%.
Nor are all our species dying out. Some campaigners claim that 50% of all species will have died out within 50 years. But other studies show only 0.08% of species are dying out each year. Conservation efforts have been successful. Whales are no longer threatened and the bald eagle is off the endangered list.
Environmental groups claim that many of the improvements are the results of their campaigns. Stephen Tindale, director of Greenpeace UK, said, “There are important examples, such as acid rain and ozone, where things weren’t as bad as predicted, and that’s because our behavior changed.”
1.What is Lomborg’s main argument in The Skeptical Environmentalist?
A. Our planet is in bad shape.
B. The world’s environment is improving.
C. The total amount of forests is declining.
D. Conservation efforts have been successful.
2.What is Lomborg’s main accusation of environmentalists?
A. They changed their behavior toward the environment.
B. They only told people bad news about the environment.
C. They scared people into making donations.
D. They overturned our basic assumption about the world’s environment.
3.The underlined word “depleting” is close in meaning to “_______”.
A. speeding B. limiting
C. expanding D. reducing
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Are all species dying out? B. Isn’t conservation powerful?
C. Is Our Planet Bound to Die? D. Aren’t environmentalists wrong?
Forest Schools originated in Sweden in the 1950s and spread to other countries, particularly Denmark where they have become an important part of the Danish early years program.
In a typical Danish Forest School, young children from 3 years are taken into the forest for 4 hours each day of the week. They take no toys with them, but instead use only what the forest provides (and their imaginations) to develop their games. There is a primitive hut in the forest, which is used in extreme weather. Activities are child-led and fun, such as finding small animals or stomping in puddles. Because of high adult to child ratios, children can safely try out activities which are often considered too dangerous, such as climbing trees or lighting fires, and by dressing the children in good protective clothing, they are able to play freely. By setting children small manageable tasks at which they are unlikely to fail, and giving genuine praise, children’s independence and confidence grow.
A Swedish scientific study found that children in the Forest School are more balanced and socially capable, have fewer sick days, are more able to concentrate and have better co-ordination than the city nursery children. The primary reason appeared to be the greater opportunities to play in nature, so that children play for longer at a time, tending not to disturb each other as much as children in the city nursery. The study observed that where children were interrupted, they became irritable, their stress level rose, and their ability to concentrate fell.
The study also showed that the Forest School children had 25 % fewer sick days than the city children. One reason for this is that the air is nearly always better outside than indoors. Outside a child is not so exposed to virus and bacteria and not so likely to be infected by other children. Another reason may be that, since stress has been shown to have a negative effect on the immune system, high stress levels may be weakening the city children. The Forest School children, on the other hand, are in a pleasant, natural, fun and less stressful environment.
1.Why is there a primitive hut in the forest?
A. To let children have fun.
B. To store daily necessities.
C. To enrich the children’s imagination.
D. To protect the children from bad weather.
2.What kind of activities do the Forest School children have?
A. Activities to improve grades.
B. Activities designed for adults.
C. Activities usually played by braver kids.
D. Fun activities but with a certain level of danger.
3.The Forest School children are more able to concentrate because ______.
A. they have more interesting things to do B. they are accompanied by adults
C. they are not disturbed so often D. they are playing in small groups
4.Which of the following best describes the Forest School children?
A. Free and wild. B. Confident and happy.
C. Polite and calm. D. Strong and adventurous.
At Beaver Meadows Ranch on Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, there is a long list of outdoor winter activities for the entire family. Take a winter vacation there.
Ice Fishing
For $10 a day, visitors can try their hand at ice fishing. Ice fishing is available from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. You will need to bring your own ice fishing equipment because it cannot be rented. You will need to have your fishing license too. For more about it, call 800-462-5870.
Hot Chocolate & Cookies Sleigh Ride
Passengers take a 15- to 20-minute sleigh ride through beautiful Colorado country. During the sleigh ride, you’ll have the experience of stopping at an old-time cabin, warming yourself by a fire and eating cookies while drinking hot chocolate. You will need to contact them at 970-231-1955 to set up a time for your sleigh ride.
Winter Horseback Riding
Experience winter horseback riding while viewing the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding 840 acres where Beaver Meadows Ranch makes its home. You’ll be guided on a tour by one of the expert wranglers (牧马人) when the weather permits. One-hour rides cost $35 per person and two-hour rides cost $50. For more information, contact them at 866-881-7679 to set up your horseback riding winter activity.
Other Winter Activities Information
For more information about Beaver Meadows Ranch, or if you’d like to book a room for an adventurous holiday, call 970-881-2450. It’s not very often you can find a one-stop adventure spot full of winter activities. Take advantage of your free time this winter season and enjoy the outdoor scenery in Colorado.
1.If you want to enjoy sleigh rides, you will call _____.
A. 800-462-5870 B. 970-231-1955
C. 970-881-2450 D. 866-881-7679
2.How much does a couple have to pay if they want to have a two-hour horseback ride?
A. $50. B. $70.
C. $100. D. $140.
3.Where can you most probably read this passage?
A. In the latest news. B. In a children’s book.
C. In a travel guide. D. In a sportsman’s diary.
假定你是李华，你市将举办国际马拉松赛，请你给外教John发一封电子邮件，邀请他一起报名参加。
内容主要包括：
1.告知马拉松比赛的具体信息；
2.说明邀请理由；
3.希望对方参加。
注意：1. 词数100左右（开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数）；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：马拉松marathon
Dear John,
I’m pleased to tell you that an international marathon will take place in our city.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
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。
I have a classmate named Angel, who is a lovely and bright girl. She is popular from all the classmates. One day, news came as Angel had got blood cancer. It really shocked everybody.
When I saw her in the hospital, I could not help cry. She was very thin and weak that it seemed only skin and bones were left. But her face was so pale, she gave us a big smile to comfort us. All the classmates and teachers began to raise money. Some called media for help. In the end, I succeeded in raising the money for the first operation. We will keep trying until Angel was cured. Many people offered as more help as they could even though they did not know Angel. I am really touched by this. There is love in everywhere as long as we seek for it.
