Suppose you are about to complete high school and are thinking about attending a college or university. After doing some research, you find a school you would like to attend, but have questions about the application process. So you go to the school’s website in the hope of finding a few answers.
Time goes by and you, a student, still do not have the answers. You almost feel like giving up. But today, as you can see, artificial intelligence is so advanced. You find a message appears on your computer or personal electronic device. It says something like: ''How can I help? '' Writing back to the website, you try to explain your problem. You possibly get a few questions to clarify what your concerns are. Then, almost immediately, the person with whom you are in contact provides the information you are seeking.
In fact, you are not actually communicating with a school official. You are not even dealing with a human being. You are in contact with a computer program, or chatbot. It is using artificial intelligence, AI for short, to understand and communicate with you. This might sound strange. But chances are that this would not be the first time you have communicated with a computer program without knowing it. In recent years, chatbots have become a common tool for banks and large companies around the world.
Having human beings available to answer people’s questions and complaints can be costly, requiring many workers. And in most cases, employees can only work for several hours in a day, increasing customers’ waiting time for a response, but the chatbot can work around the clock. So not only companies, but a growing number of universities have also begun using the chatbot technology.
Australia's University of Adelaide noted a major improvement in its service to student after employing a chathot to deal with application questions in 2018. It said that students received responses 13 times faster, and students’ approval of the quality of service increased by 60 percent. And just the speed of reacting to questions is the chatbot's major strength.
1.How does the author introduce the topic of the text?
A.By assumption. B.By comparison.
C.By definition. D.By data.
2.What's the main purpose of paragraph 2?
A.To tell time and tide wait for no man.
B.To advise students should clarify their questions.
C.To present the communication convenience brought by Al.
D.To show the phenomenon that students are addicted to computers.
3.What is the main advantage of the chatbot technology?
A.Its low cost. B.Its ease of use.
C.Its short working hours. D.Its quick response.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A.Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly.
B.Robots are gradually replacing human services.
C.Employees chat with robots without knowing them.
D.More universities use chatbots to communicate online.
Your children's education doesn’t have to stop after school. These game apps for your iPhone, iPad and Android will keep your youngsters’ minds active outside the classroom. Of course, let your children play the developmental games in moderation.
Elmo Loves 123s
Help your children identify and count numbers from 1 to 20 and do some simple calculation. Everyone's favorite furry character, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby will guide kids along the way. （under five years,$4.99; iPad）
Habitat the Game
Players adopt a virtual polar bear and must complete real-world actions, such as turning off lights and conserving water, to keep the creature healthy. Kids will take pride in making an actual difference in the world with these exciting games. (4 years+, free; iPhone, iPad, Android)
Disney Story Central
Bedtime just gets a lot less painful thanks to Disney Story Central. The large selection of e-books star Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, the princesses, and Doc MacStuffins. Plus, the bookworms will earn awards as progress is made day by day.(2 years+, free for iPad for the first 4 books, with additional purchase packages starting at$4)
GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine
GoldieBlox, the toy company focusing on inspiring girls to become innovators, has created GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine, its first app for inspiring engineers. Your kids will learn the basics of cartoons and create her own one-second animated GiFs. (6 years+, free; iphone iPad)
1.Which of the apps can teach kids to care about the environment?
A.Elmo Loves 123s. B.Habitat the Game.
C.Disney Story Central. D.GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine.
2.What do we know about Disney Story Central?
A.It is designed for girls. B.It is suitable for all ages.
C.It offers rewards to advancers. D.It offers free books to iPhone users.
3.Who is the text most probably written for?
A.Young engineers. B.Parents.
C.Game developers. D.Teenagers.
假设你是晨光中学高一（3）班李津，你校将在下周五举办“校园艺术节（Campus Art Festival）”系列活动。请给你班留学生Jim写封邮件，邀请他参加，邮件的内容包括：
1.介绍你选择参加的活动（如唱歌、书法、绘画、舞蹈、乐器等）；2.说明参加该活动的理由；3.邀请他参加校园艺术节。
注意：1.词数不少于100；2.邮件的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Lijin
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
What will the home of the future look like? A team of architects in Hong Kong say that city homes will be tiny, as populations continue to grow and space becomes more expensive.
They have designed “space flats” with just 30 square meters in size as the houses in the following years. These flats have several small rooms: a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom, but everything is carefully planned to make good use of the limited space.
The living room is the main room of the flat. It can be used as an office, a kitchen or even a second bedroom. There is a sofa that can be changed into a bed. The dining table can be changed into a computer desk. And, if not needed, both the sofa-bed and the table can be folded and put away. There is a flat-screen TV, which can also serve as a computer monitor. In one corner of the room, a small cooker, a microwave oven and a mini-refrigerator are hidden out of sight. The other rooms are small but practical. The bathroom contains a toilet and a shower. The double bed in the bedroom can also be transformed into a sofa, if required.
“Space flats” are wonderful and they are now being tested in a building in Hong Kong. It is believed that “space flats” will be improved to be our future homes.
1.According to the architects, why will city homes be tiny?(no more than 10 words)
2.How many rooms does a “space flat” have?(no more than 1 word)
3.How can we deal with the sofa-bed and the table if we don’t need them?(no more than 8 words)
4.According to the passage, list 3 kinds of kitchen equipment in the flat.(no more than 10 words)
5.What do you think of the “space flats”? Give your reasons.(no more than 20 words)
Since the novel corona-virus (新冠病毒) outbreak, many people have been forced to stay at home for long periods of time to protect themselves from the virus. This has given people more free time to learn new skills and find different ways to entertain themselves.
Some of these activities include things like singing, learning to cook and ordering fresh food online. All of these things can be done in the palm of your hand with mobile apps.
Before, young people would go outside and meet friends at karaoke bars (卡拉OK酒吧). Now, friends can meet and sing on the mobile karaoke app Changba. “The Changba app not only gives me the chance to share my songs with friends, but also lets me sing whatever I like at home.” said an app user.
Some people have also taken up cooking as a new hobby to pass the time. You don’t need to attend culinary (烹饪的) school, thanks to apps like Xiachufang and Ecook, which make it easier for those who want to learn how to cook. These apps provide a platform for users to look up different recipes (菜谱) and to share their own recipes with others. “Using this app, I have learned many new and healthy dishes which help me eat better.” an app user commented on the app’s website.
To help people avoid crowded places like grocery stores, apps that deliver (递送) goods right to your door have also become very popular. “It is obvious that the epidemic (疫情) has attracted new groups of consumers (消费者), such as elderly people, who originally didn’t belong to our target user group.” Zhang Yi, an analyst from the market research company, said.
Indeed, during this special time, these apps have opened up a whole new world of opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
1.According to the passage, what can people do during the period of novel corona-virus outbreak?
A.Singing at karaoke bars.
B.Learning to cook at home by apps.
C.Buying food in crowded markets.
D.Meeting friends at restaurants.
2.What does the author tell us about the Changba app in Paragraph 3?
A.It is more user-friendly than karaoke bars.
B.It helps users to discover their singing talent.
C.It provides chances for users to share songs with friends.
D.It allows users to improve their singing skills fast.
3.What does the article tell us about food-delivery apps?
A.They have lost many young customers.
B.They have opened culinary classes for their users.
C.They have more elderly users than before.
D.They have caused many grocery stores to close.
4.Which of the following shows the structure of the article?
A.
B.
C.
D.
（①②③④⑤⑥= Paragraphs 1-6）
5.What is the purpose of the article?
A.To introduce the mobile apps people use during epidemic period.
B.To teach people how to cook at home.
C.To show how to buy things on the Internet.
D.To tell people how to protect themselves from the virus.
All eyes were on Jack Ma. The chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. left his position on Teachers’ Day from leading the e-commerce（电子商务） giant he founded 20 years ago.
“I still have lots of dreams to go after,” Ma wrote in an open letter last year to announce his parting. “The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things.”
The 55-year-old businessman showed that he was ready for new things by arriving at his farewell party dressed up like a rock star.
In fact, his rags-to-riches（白手起家的） story is a good example of doing something different. Visiting the United States in 1995, Ma saw the internet and had the idea of setting up his own trading website. In 1999, he founded Alibaba with a group of friends in a shared apartment, struggling for years to get it off the ground. With all the challenges, the company slowly brought e-commerce to China.
Although his success has inspired a number of Chinese tech businessmen, Ma pointed out that the key is having a dream. “It’s the dreams that keep us full of confidence and never afraid of setbacks（挫折）.” Ma said in a video posted on Sept 9.
Now the experienced businessman is looking to focus on education. What can he offer? “I’m not going to teach English; I’m not going to teach business, But I’m going to teach young people how to face challenges,” he told Bloomberg News.
Skilled sailors were never made on calm waters. As Ma said, “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. But the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”
1.What did Jack Ma announce on Teachers’ Day?
A.His retirement from Alibaba.
B.His plan to enlarge his online business.
C.His dream of becoming a rock star.
D.His plan to return to teaching.
2.What can we infer according to Paragraph 4?
A.Jack Ma was born in a rich family.
B.Jack Ma had the idea of setting up his own trading website in 1999.
C.Jack Ma founded Alibaba alone.
D.Jack Ma went through challenges to found Alibaba.
3.What does Ma think dreams mean to us?
A.Dreams can guide us to further our education.
B.Dreams can give us confidence and courage.
C.Dreams can push us to set up new businesses.
D.Dreams can lead us to offer more to society.
4.What lessons will be offered by Ma?
A.How to operate business.
B.How to learn English.
C.How to face challenges.
D.How to set up a website.
5.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph imply?
A.Practice makes perfect.
B.Confidence is the key to success.
C.Skilled sailors like calm waters.
D.We should face challenges bravely.
