Question

    Kiwi students have become the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher named Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom. Will is just an avatar (化身) that appears on the student’s desktop, tablet or smartphone screen.

Auckland energy company Vector and AI company Soul Machines have worked together to model after the human brain and nervous system, allowing it to show human-like behavior. The digital teacher is now teaching primary school students about renewable energy.

Just like the humans it replaced, Will is able to instantly react to the students’ responses to the topic. He also picks up facial expressions, body language of the students. For instance, if a student smiles at Will, he smiles back. The two-way interaction(互动) not only helps capture(捕捉) the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their performance, and make changes if needed.

Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer of Soul Machines, says, “It’s well-documented that STEM teachers are in short supply in New Zealand schools. By using digital teachers, we are able to provide access to education to kids and communities that might not have access to real teachers.”

Greg believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to have the attention of the next generation. He says, “The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success thus far. However, regardless of its popularity, Will is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one thing, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. For another, even the smartest digital avatars could never react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis.”

1.What do we know about Will?

A. He teaches college students in the classroom.

B. He will replace human teachers in the future.

C. He can deal with unexpected issues in class.

D. He has human-like brain and nervous system.

2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The human brain. B. The nervous system.

C. The digital teacher. D. The human-like robot.

3.Why did Vector and Soul Machines create Will?

A. To monitor students’ performance. B. To respond to the teacher shortage.

C. To capture students’ attention in class. D. To teach students renewable energy.

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. World-first Digital Teacher. B. Future of Energy Company.

C. Development of AI Company. D. Shortage of Human Teachers.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章因为有着类似人类的大脑和神经系统的“数字老师”Will可以展示出类似人类的行为，因此被应用到老师短缺的新西兰学校中，为那些无法接触到真正教师的孩子和社区提供受教育的机会。

1.细节理解题。第二段第二句“Auckland energy company Vector and AI company Soul Machines have worked together to model after the human brain and nervous system, allowing it to show human-like behavior.”可知Will有类似人类的大脑和神经系统，故选D。

2.词义猜测题。根据下文“The digital teacher is now teaching primary school students about renewable energy.”（这位数字教师现在正在教授小学生有关可再生能源的知识。）其中teaching primary school students about renewable energy可对应到上文中的show human-like behavior，故可知it为指代“The digital teacher”，故选C。

3.细节理解题。第四段第二句“It’s well-documented that STEM teachers are in short supply in New Zealand schools. By using digital teachers, we are able to provide access to education to kids and communities that might not have access to real teachers.”可知新西兰学校的STEM教师供不应求，这是有据可查的。通过使用数字教师，我们能够为那些无法接触到真正教师的孩子和社区提供受教育的机会。可知Vector and Soul Machines创造Will是为了应对师资短缺，故选B。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章主题句“Kiwi students have become the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher named Will.”以及文章主要内容可知主要为讲述“数字老师”Will在新西兰学校的应用，故选A。