Alibaba Cloud and the Hangzhou city government announced the launch of ET City Brain 2.0, a cloud—powered and Al-driven urban traffic-management system that aims to increase the city’s efficiency.
After over two years of testing in Alibaba’s home base, ET City Brain has become the new infrastructure (基础设施) for Hangzhou, with a total coverage of 420 square kilometers in area, including over 1,300 traffic lights. Over 200 traffic officers are connected via mobile phones, enabling them to receive real-time alerts on any traffic-related emergencies.
In version 2.0, the system will optimize the city’s firefighting abilities by providing key information to firefighters, such as water pressure, the number and position of fire hydrants (消防栓) in a given area, the location of gas pipes and other details they need to know. The information is instant, making the entire firefighting process faster, safer and more accurate.
City Brain gives meaning to data. By using AI and advanced algorithms (计算程序), City Brain is able to analyze a large amount of data and turn them into useful information in real-time speed.
As a result of City Brain’s ability to predict traffic flow, detect accidents and provide instant feedback, Hangzhou has dropped from 5th to the 57th on the list of China’s most congested cities. Hangzhou is probably the only city that can tell you how many cars are on the street at any given time.
In the case of medical emergencies, City Brain is able to change traffic lights, so emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks can head to the scene without interruption, accelerating their arrival time by 49%.
Dr. Wang Jian, the head of Alibaba’s Technology Steering Committee who invented the term “City Brain”, said the system is designed to empower a city to act quickly and directly. It is more than just about traffic management. It’s really about how to make city more livable at a time of shrinking natural resources around the globe. “It is a matter of sustainability, while using as little natural resources as possible,” Wang said, “This is just the beginning.”
1.What benefit will ET City Brain bring?
A.Lower crime rates.
B.Efficient government.
C.Less traffic congestion.
D.Improved medical care.
2.Which of the following functions of the city Brain is NOT mentioned in the text?
A.Predicting traffic flow.
B.Giving quick feedback.
C.Changing traffic lights.
D.Handling traffic accidents.
3.Which of the following best explains “optimize” in paragraph 3?
A.Better. B.Practise.
C.Operate. D.Emphasize.
4.What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
A.ET City Brain 2.0 is a mature version.
B.Alibaba targets environmentally-friendly development.
C.The government is devoted to improving the system.
D.The system can solve the problem of lack of resources.
You try to keep your eyes wide open while watching a basketball match or a wonderful firework show in case you might miss something exciting in just the blink (眨眼睛) of an eye. But in fact, humans blink about 15 times per minute on average. Have you ever missed anything because you blinked? Probably not. Why is that?
According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology in September, our brain has the ability to skip the temporary darkness when we blink. It can keep visual information for a short period of time and then put it together to form an image without interruption.
In order to understand how this works, a group of scientists at the German Primate Center and the University Medical Center Gottingen in Germany conducted an experiment. In the study, the participants were asked to look at patterns on a screen whose direction could be shown in different ways, such as horizontally or vertically (垂直地). When one pattern was about to disappear and the next one was about to come, the participants had to indicate the direction that the next pattern would appear.
The researchers found that when the directions of two patterns didn’t match, the area in our brain which is responsible for visual memory was activated. This same area showed less activity when two patterns were in the same direction.
“The medial prefrontal cortex (前额叶皮层) adjusts current visual information with previously obtained information, and thus enables us to sense the world with more stability, even when we briefly close our eyes to blink，” Caspar Schwiedrzik explained in Science Daily. He is the first author of the study and also a scientist at the German Primate Center.
1.We don’t miss anything when blinking because our brain can ________.
A.remember all that we see B.deal with the missing image
C.imagine what our eyes miss D.recognize our pieces of memory
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Visual information. B.Our brain.
C.Current Biology. D.The temporary darkness.
3.What do we know about the experiment?
A.The different directions activated visual memory.
B.Visual memory can be more activated by similarity.
C.Participants can interpret patterns differently.
D.The two patterns appear at the same time.
4.The passage is mainly talking about ________.
A.the brain’s structure B.the brain’s special skill
C.the brain’s activated patterns D.the brain’s directions
It took multiple weddings for Christine Law to realize what she needed to do. In the summer of 2014, her schedule was packed with friends’ marriage celebrations - flower-filled occasions that got her thinking, “Where do all the flowers go after the party？” More often than not, they were thrown away. Law was confident she could find a better use for them.
By August, she had a plan:convince couples and companies hosting events to donate their flowers, which she would pick up and deliver within 48 hours to seniors across the city. She wanted to bring beauty into the lives of the elderly. She drew on her experience through being a volunteer in nonprofit institutions in order to set up her own organization, which she called Floranthropie. Not having enough bouquets (花束) for all 150 people of a health center, Law asked the staff to provide a list of patients who needed cheering up most. “The first woman I approached thought it was a mistake, and that the flowers couldn’t possibly be for her,” says Law. “I said they were a gift, and we talked for a half hour.
In addition to health centers, Floranthropie focuses on community groups devoted to the elderly. Laëtitia Thélème is a volunteer for Les Petits Fières, an organization that aims to help the elderly who don’t have a support system. The group receives a dozen or so bouquets from Floranthropie monthly, and then redistributes them. “Our motto is ‘flowers before bread’,” says Thélème. “We don’t focus on primary care, but rather on nourishing (滋养) the spirit. Floranthropie helps us do that. It’s amazing what a big difference a small bouquet can make.”
In the beginning, most of Floranthropie’s donations came through word of mouth. These days, Law receives messages from strangers via her organization’s Facebook page and has connected with corporations and flower wholesalers. Law hopes to expand Floranthropie nationally, but at this point is happy to be able to oversee each delivery personally.
1.What made Christine Law set up Floranthropie?
A.The warm atmosphere of weddings. B.The loneliness of seniors.
C.The persuasion of other friends. D.The waste of flowers.
2.How did the woman feel about Christine Law’s flowers?
A.She was moved. B.She was surprised.
C.She was worried. D.She was excited.
3.What can we infer about Floranthropie from Laëtitia Thélème’s words?
A.It should focus on primary care.
B.It is doing something of great importance.
C.It is benefiting more than the elderly.
D.It should cooperate with more nonprofit institutions.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Volunteer Your Time B.Don’t Throw Flowers Away
C.Brighten Seniors’ Lives with Flowers D.Special Delivery Makes Your Day
Guinness World Records Set by Kids
♦ The youngest club DJ
Oratilwe A J Hongwane likes putting in more efforts when playing music for a crowd. In 2012, he became the youngest club DJ—he was five when he played a one- hour set to 100 people at a bar in South Africa. Known in the business as DJ Arch Jnr, he broke the record previously held by a six-year-old in Japan.
♦The most viewed video game-unboxing video
Kids love watching someone unbox a new purchase—especially if it's something they can't get themselves. Maybe that's why more than 25 million people have watched YouTube HD. What's really cool about Evan is that he actually donates most of the toys to those in need. He also uses his popular YouTube channel to draw people's attention to worthy organizations for helping the poor.
♦The youngest drummer
The rules of Guinness World Records say a drummer must record a real song and be paid for his skills and that the drummer must give at least 20 concerts of 45 minutes or longer within five years. At the age of just four Julian Pavone met all those qualifications.
♦The fastest assembly (组装)of 10,000 Lego pieces and the longest Lego chain
A group of school kids in New Jersey went for their world records to increase public awareness about a fellow student who is suffering from a rare and deadly disease. The group put together 10,000 Lego pieces in just three hours, breaking the old one by five hours. They also set the record for the longest Lego chain, which ended up at 947 meters, beating the old record by 40.
1.Who is devoted to charity?
A.Oratilwe A J Hongwane. B.Evan.
C.DJ Arch Jnr. D.Julian Pavone.
2.What do we know about the youngest drummer?
A.He has recorded 20 real songs.
B.He gave at least 20 concerts at five.
C.He must earn a lot of money by recording.
D.He was qualified for the Guiness World Reords at four.
3.Why did the school kids set the world record?
A.To help a sick schoolmate.
B.To inspire team spirit.
C.To prevent a rare disease.
D.To make their school famous.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The origin of advertising.
B.The prosperity of advertising.
C.The development of advertising.
2.What’s the financial source of the mass media?
A.Advertisements. B.The private businesses. C.The local governments.
3.What does the speaker talk about at last?
A.Ways of advertising.
B.The popularity of advertisements.
C.People’s opinions on advertising.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where does Dr. Gucci work?
A.In London. B.In Paris. C.In Bergamo.
2.When will Mr. Wilkinson leave for the airport?
A.At about 6:30 am. B.At about 5:30 am. C.At about 4:15 am.
3.With whom will Mr. Wilkinson have lunch on Monday?
A.Gianni Riva. B.Gavin. C.Mr. Brown.
4.What is Linda most probably?
A.A secretary. B.A tour guide. C.A saleswoman.
