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Driverless cars used to be the sort of thing you’d see in sci-fi films, but in 2020 they’re becoming a reality. Autonomous car technology is already being developed by the likes of Lexus, BMW and Mercedes, and we’ve even tested Tesla’s driverless Autopilot system on UK roads. Across the Atlantic, Google is developing its automated technology in the wild, and Apple is rumoured to be working with BMW on its own-probably automated-car.
Fully-driverless tech is still at an advanced testing stage, but partially automated technology has been around for the last few years. Executive saloons like the BMW 7 Series feature automated parking, and can even be controlled remotely.
With so much investment and interest in driverless technology, it’s easy to assume that self-operating cars are likely to happen soon, but they’re much further away than we might think. Before driverless vehicles go to market widely, manufacturers must deal with a range of technical and ethical challenges, and prevent the biggest threat to autonomous technology: humans.
The human problem
Humans present problems for autonomous cars as both drivers and pedestrians, and dealing with our unpredictable behaviour represents a significant challenge for the technology.
The Google Car is one of the most experienced autonomous vehicles. Even so, its interaction with human drivers has given rise to the exposure of one of driverless cars’ main weaknesses. The first injury involving the Google Car wasn’t due to a fault in its system, but human-error. While correctly waiting at traffic lights, Google’s self-driving car was hit by an inattentive driver and, in spite of its sophisticated array (复杂精密的数组) of sensors, there was little it could do to avoid the incident. Luckily, the accident only resulted in minor injury for a few of the passengers, but it’s a reminder that autonomous cars are at risk when surrounded by human road users.
Despite their sophisticated systems, self-driving cars currently have no plan B for human road users. Human drivers are able to interact with each other and make allowances, but also make countless, small mistakes when driving-mistakes to which current self-driving cars simply can’t adapt.
Dealing with pedestrians
The way human drivers interact with pedestrians raises difficult moral and ethical questions for car manufacturers-with implications.
Autonomous cars need to understand the way pedestrians behave, while also imitating the behaviour they’d expect from a human driver. “Everyone has a knowledge of how a human being is going to react, because we are all human beings,” says computer ethics commentator Ben Byford. “So if you walk out in front of a car, and presumably the car driver knows you’re there, they’re going to react in a certain way.”
“ If I walked out in front of a Google car travelling at 60mph, I have no real knowledge of how the vehicle will behave, so I’m effectively putting myself in danger.”
How 1. away are we from autonomous cars? | ||
Background information | ● Autonomous car technology has been 2. in some famous car manufacturers. ● Partially automated technology has been in 3. for the last few years. ● Before our roads are 4. with driverless vehicles, manufacturers have a lot of things to do. | |
5. about the autonomous technology | The human problem | ● The Google car’s accident has 6. one of driverless cars’ weaknesses. ● 7. the sophisticated array of sensors, Google’s self-driving car could do little to avoid the accident. ● With no alternative plan, self-driving cars cannot have a good 8. with human drivers. |
Dealing with pedestrians | 9. human drivers who know pedestrians well, autonomous cars have difficulty in 10. their behavior, thus putting pedestrians in danger. |
For more than three decades, Deirdre Taylor only knew the firefighter who saved her life through the black-and-white photos on the front page of the New York Daily News, on Dec. 30, 1983.
She was only 4 then, a blond, wide-eyed toddler pictured in the paper in the arms of the firefighter, Eugene Pugliese, who had just carried her out of her burning apartment building. Taylor, now a registered nurse in Alexandria, Virginia, kept the Daily News article for years. She wished as she got older that she could find Pugliese and thank him-a desire that intensified after she became an emergency room nurse, as she learned how rare it was to hear back from patients she encountered on the worst days of their lives.
But she hadn’t lived in New York since the fire, and didn’t know where to start. She periodically searched his name on Google, finding nothing. Finally, in March, Taylor thought she may have one last chance to find him. With her family’s support, she decided to move from Virginia to New York for eight weeks to work in an overwhelmed Manhattan emergency room- trying to help save the lives of coronavirus patients, while searching for the man who saved hers.
“When I was packing my bags, I packed the Daily News article with me, ____①____ “ Taylor, 40, said, “and I told myself that one of the things I’m going to accomplish while I’m here is track him down, or track a family member down, and just say thank you. “
Pugliese, 75, had never had someone track him down to say thank you before, he said. For decades, the Daily News front-page article hung in his office. How could he forget Deirdre? “I've had her picture on my wall for 24 years,” he said.
He remembers the day clearly. It began when a man came running up yelling that there was a fire. Pugliese rushed to the burning building, where thick smoke was pouring out of a sixth-floor apartment. He went into and found it engulfed in flames. Taylor’s mother was crying, “My baby! My baby!” Pugliese remembered. He quickly helped her out of the room before returning on his hands and knees, crawling through the burning studio and blinding smoke for about six feet, when he felt the child. She was unconscious. He carried her to the living room, where he gave her mouth-to-mouth breath to bring her back. He rushed down the six flights of stairs to get her to an ambulance, when to Pugliese’s relief, she woke up and started to cry. “ _____②____ I was just in the right place at the right time,” Pugliese said. Pugliese later received a medal for Taylor’s rescue, in a ceremony that is among his most prized memories.
Taylor’s first two weeks in New York were overwhelming, as she and her colleagues dealt with patient after patient struggling to breathe. During her time off, she tried on one occasion to go to the firehouse where Pugliese worked, only to find a sign on the door discouraging visitors due to covid-19. But finally, last week, Taylor caught a break. A group of firefighters came to the ER to deliver the medical staff pizzas for dinner, to show their appreciation. Taylor explained to them that she was trying to find a likely retired fireman from Ladder No. 20, and did they have any suggestions on how to start?
One of the firemen gave her a phone number to connect her with the fire chief.
“Oh, Gene?” the chief told her. “He stops by the firehouse all the time.”
“ _____③____ “ Taylor said, “I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t think he was still going to be around. I really thought I was going to hit a dead end.” He said, “Yeah, I have his phone number in my cellphone.”
The chief phoned Pugliese right away. Less than an hour later, Taylor’s phone rang. “It’s Gene Pugliese,” he said. “I’m the firefighter who rescued you that day.” Finally, Taylor told him what she had been meaning to say. Taylor said she could only describe the moment as surreal. Pugliese asked if her hair was still blond. It was. He told her the story of the fire, and she told him the story of her life afterward. They learned they had plenty in common. Both were die-hard Yankees fans. Both spent time in the military.
After the call, Pugliese said, “ ____④____ I cried for the rest of the day.”
1.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 implies ___________.
A.it is impossible to receive the feedback from the one you helped.
B.it is not urgent to find Pugliese because of Taylor’s busy work.
C.it is precious to receive the feedback from the one you helped.
D.it is Taylor’s responsibility to save the lives of coronavirus patients.
2.Why did Pugliese hang the Daily News picture on his wall for 24 years?
A.He was a responsible firefighter.
B.He has a long-lasting memory.
C.The rescue took him much effort.
D.The rescue was the highlight of his career.
3.In which blank can we put the sentence “My heart literally skipped a beat” ?
A.① B.② C.③ D.④
4.How did Pugliese feel after their talk on the phone?
A.He felt sad but relieved. B.He felt delighted and moved.
C.He felt shocked and grateful. D.He felt excited but awkward.
5.What is likely to happen after the call?
A.Pugliese and Taylor may meet in person.
B.Taylor may award Pugliese a medal for his rescue.
C.Pugliese and Taylor may work together to fight the virus.
D.Pugliese and Taylor may lose touch again due to the virus.
6.What can be the best title for the passage?
A.A Brave Hero B.A Dedicated Nurse
C.A Debt of Gratitude D.An Incredible Coincidence
Encouraging life to bloom in the middle of a desert is no easy task. But one company, The National Advisor Bureau, in the United Arab Emirates has come up with a unique plan to provide drinking water for the state’s citizens. The firm intends to pull icebergs from Antarctica to the gulf coast in order to harvest its billions of gallons of fresh water. One iceberg could provide enough for one million people over five years, according to the company. And the scheme could begin as early as the start of 2018.
The firm’s director says they have already travelled the transportation route and used simulators to check the practicality of the scheme, according to reports in Gulf News. Speaking to the site about what he is calling the UAE Iceberg Project, Abdullah Mohammad Shehi said: “we predict that it will take up to one year to tow (拖拉) an iceberg to UAE.” We have made the technical and financial plan. Towing is the best method. We will start the project in beginning of 2018. “We want it mainly for the water. It could also be good for tourism and the weather.”
The UAE is one of the most dry countries and one of the top 10 most water-scarce in the world, due to its extremely dry climate, which receives less than four inches (100 mm) of rainfall per year. Despite that, it consumes more water than double the global national average, putting the country at severe risk of droughts over the next 25 years. An average iceberg contains more than 20 billion gallons of water, according to the Abu Dhabi-based company. They take a long time to melt as 80 percent of their mass is underwater, while the white ice above reflects sunlight, reducing its heat. Upon arrival at a specially constructed processing facility, workers will “mine” the icebergs for their water supplies. Blocks of ice will be sliced and placed in giant tanks, before being filtered and processed. “This is the purest water in the world”, Mr Al Shehi added. He also claims the iceberg’s presence could provide a more moist micro-climate in the area, perhaps even prompting rainfall. And the project may prove a boost for tourism if it proves a success, with people travelling to see the unusual sight of an iceberg off the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
1.What is the main purpose of The National Advisor Bureau’s scheme?
A.To boost tourism and ease financial burden in UAE.
B.To save endangered wildlife and boost tourism in UAE.
C.To make drinking water accessible to the people in UAE.
D.To get the purest water in the world for the citizens in UAE.
2.What does the underlined word simulator in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.A type of mining tool to carve out the iceberg.
B.An electronic device to create and store energy.
C.A vehicle to transport the iceberg from Antarctica.
D.A piece of equipment to test potential conditions.
3.Which of the following helps slow down the melting of iceberg during transportation?
A.The special electronic devices to keep the iceberg frozen.
B.The time of processing iceberg before being transported.
C.Much of the iceberg lying under water with ice above reflecting light.
D.The floating of the iceberg in the seawater with a more moist micro-climate.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the plan?
A.Favorable. B.Cautious. C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving.
Choosing a name for a child is often a headache for parents, but new research shows that picking well could be more crucial than previously thought.
Academics have found that your first name actually changes the way you look. For example, someone called ‘Bob’ is expected by society to have a rounder and happier face than a man called ‘Tim’. That expectation eventually leads ‘Bobs’ to become more social, while ‘Tims’ may appear thinner and reserved. The connection may be linked to the “bouba-kiki” effect which suggests that across languages, rounder and smoother objects are labelled with rounded ‘bouba’ sounds, while thinner pointed objects have ‘kik’ sounds. Likewise ‘Winstons’ are believed to be feeling blue, while ‘Marys’ are considered to be moral, both traits which may change appearance, and over time, change face shape. And a woman named ‘Katherine’ is considered to be more serious and dependable than a girl named ‘Bonnie’. Such cultural expectations may encourage ‘Katherines’ to be more studious and academic, which could gradually influence the development of facial muscles, perhaps through increased concentration.
“Prior researches have shown there are cultural stereotypes attached to names, including how someone should look,” said lead author Dr Yonat Zwebner, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “For instance, people are more likely to imagine a person named Bob to have a rounder face than a person named Tim. We believe these stereotypes can, over time, affect people’s facial appearance.”
To find out if face shape was linked to name, researchers conducted eight studies to see whether it was possible for strangers to correctly identify the names of people simply by looking at their faces. In every experiment, the participants were significantly better (up to 40 percent accurate) at matching the name to the face than random chance (20-25 percent accurate) even when nationality, age and other socioeconomic variables were controlled for. “Together, these findings suggest that facial appearance represents social expectations of how a person with a particular name should look. In this way, a social tag may influence one’s facial appearance,” said co-author Dr Ruth Mayo.
1.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A.How your name sounds simply counts.
B.Your name may tell how you look.
C.Social expectations determine your name.
D.It’s important to concentrate on facial muscles.
2.What can we learn from the eight studies?
A.Most of the participants match the name with the face correctly.
B.The findings are contradictory to those of the previous research.
C.They are based on the data from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
D.The findings are similar to those of the previous research.
3.According to Dr Ruth Mayo, one’s facial appearance is basically affected by ___________.
A.social expectations B.the experience of their life
C.their parents’ preference D.the meaning of their names
Understanding the context for the Ebola outbreak: What went right, what went wrong, and how we can all do better. Like no other event in recent history, the 2014 Ebola outbreak has made clear the fragility of existing health systems. While responding to the current epidemic is critical, we also have an opportunity to learn lessons to prevent the next global health catastrophe, create partnerships across borders and disciplines, and demonstrate our commitment to value all human lives.
This four-week course provides the context in which to understand the Ebola outbreak-why now, and why did so many people suffer and die? The course lays out the global governance structure -what was the global response supposed to look like, and where did it fail?
The course will feature experts and scholars who will focus on cultivating a better understanding of the Ebola epidemic and implications for future health systems to ensure that the world is more effective in preventing the next epidemic .
1.What can we learn from the text?
A.Learners will learn to attend patients with epidemic effectively.
B.Learners should pay extra fee to gain a verified certificate.
C.Learners should spend no more than 10 hours during the whole course.
D.Learners will follow a fixed schedule and should be good at English.
2.The course is designed to _________.
A.prevent the next pandemic B.understand the 2014 Ebola
C.improve health systems D.provide academic support
One spring, two friends and I sought permission to plant a garden. Our school was located in the downtown area of a large city. There wasn’t_______of a backyard._______ , it was our garden, a stone-covered dirt parking lot with no extra space. However, we carefully_______taking into account the area that received the best sunshine.
The three of us_______the headmaster with our plan for a small area to plant some squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. The only real _______ involved was to rent a rake(耙), a pickax(丁字镐), and a hoe(锄头). However,_______ the headmaster’s permission would still be difficult. We will never forget his _______ to our request. With a slightly bored tilting (偏斜) of his head, he _______ replied, “ You are wasting your time. Nothing will ever grow there! But go ahead _______ you still want to.”
We had received permission_______ ! So what if it wasn’t enthusiastic? We rented tools, raked four inches of stones into neat walls _______ the garden, raised the pickax and _______what must have been a former waste area. A gardener dream-dark, rich soil just sitting there_______ to be discovered. We looked at each other, repeating together: “Ah, nothing will grow there.” As you might have_______ by now, things did grow there in our garden.
Have you ever _______ that way about your life-Nothing will grow there… Have you felt _______ about your life’s progress? Worried about crop failure? Disappointed that nothing good ever seems to _______ ? Don’t believe that “Nothing will grow there”. It’s never too _______ to be who you might have been. You may not always see the _______ for growth, but it is there. All the rich soil you need may be left just _______ the surface, but can only be discovered after you begin digging.
1.A.more B.little C.much D.less
2.A.Suddenly B.Now C.Again D.Actually
3.A.carried out B.laid out C.gave out D.made out
4.A.greeted B.ignored C.approached D.lectured
5.A.cost B.reward C.bargain D.bonus
6.A.allowing B.getting C.granting D.adopting
7.A.promise B.tease C.response D.result
8.A.warmly B.coldly C.readily D.hesitantly
9.A.if B.unless C.even if D.as if
10.A.at most B.at least C.at first D.at last
11.A.separating B.setting C.establishing D.outlining
12.A.carved B.landed C.struck D.smoothed
13.A.waiting B.staring C.glancing D.lying
14.A.wished B.guessed C.liked D.planned
15.A.lost B.made C.followed D.felt
16.A.discouraged B.excited C.puzzled D.awkward
17.A.go up B.bring up C.come up D.pile up
18.A.hard B.easy C.early D.late
19.A.potential B.foundation C.vision D.strategy
20.A.beyond B.beneath C.above D.off
