Shopping therapy （疗 法）is the practice of using the shopping experience to help overcome depression or other emotional problems. 1. Actually, it really works.
2. One of the most obvious things is the enjoyment people get from the items they buy. When people shop, they often buy things they really care about on some level. For example, when people come home with a new shirt or a new computer, they assume that the item is going to improve their lives in some way. This can help reduce many feelings of unhappiness.
3. Some experts think humans are linked with the need to constantly achieve and fight for improvement. People make a decision to buy something, and then actually follow through this plan. This is one way people can take action to directly change their own lives for the better.
People who don't actually have any money to buy things still benefit from shopping therapy. For them, simply browsing （浏览）can be a nice experience. That's because it helps them form future shopping plans. 4.
The simple act of leaving home and spending time around other humans is another possible reason for the effectiveness of shopping therapy. 5. Many people even use shopping as a specific social activity by bringing friends along with them and turning the process into a pleasant one.
A.So why not shop until you start feeling better?
B.So how do people benefit from shopping therapy?
C.These plans offer great expectation and hope in their life.
D.Many people shop for this reason without even realizing it.
E.People can have the feeling of achievement after shopping.
F.Many people have gone into debt due to shopping addiction.
G.There is sometimes a sense of community in the shopping experience.
You may think that creativity and artistic judgment are what sets humans apart from artificial intelligence (AI). Robots will be washing our windows long before they start creating masterpieces Right?
Not necessarily. At Amper Music (www.ampermusic.com), you can make the music you want based on mood, instrument, speed and length. You click “Render,” and boom! There’s your original piece, not only composed (作曲) but also “performed” and “mixed” by AI software.
But something has kept bothering me: What happens in a world where effort and scarcity (稀缺) are no longer part of the definition of art? A mass-produced print of the Mona Lisa is worth less than the actual Leonardo painting. Why? Scarcity—there’s only one of the original. But Amper turns. professional-quality original piece of music every time you click “Render.” It puts us in a strange world where works of art are unique but require almost zero human effort to produce. Should anyone pay for these things? And if an artist puts AI masterpieces up for sale, what should the price be?
That’s not just a thought experiment either. Soon the question “What’s the value of AI artwork and music?” will start impacting flesh—and—blood consumers. It has already, in fact.
Earlier, reporters discovered something suspicious (可疑的) about many playlists of Spotify—another online music service. According to the report, the composers and bands who wrote the songs appeared to be nonexistent. These playlists have names like Peaceful Piano and Ambient Chill—exactly the kind of music AI software is good at.
Is Spotify using software to compose music to avoid paying fees to human musicians? The New York Times reported that the tracks with false names have been played 500 million times, which would ordinarily have cost Spotify $3 million in payments.
But Spotify has firmly denied that the tracks in question were created by “fake” artists to avoid payments: while posted under pennames, they were written by actual people receiving actual money for work that they own. But the broader issue remains. Why couldn’t Spotify, or any music service, start using AI to produce free music to save itself money? Automation (自动化) is beginning to replace millions of human taxi drivers, truck drivers and fast-food workers. Why should artists and musicians be an exception to the same economics?
Should there be anything in place—a union, a law---to stop that from happening? Or will we always value human-produced art and music more than machine-made stuff? Once we’ve answered those questions, we can settle the really big one: When an AI—composed song wins the Grammy, who will be awarded?
1.What do we know from the example of Amper Music?
A.It doesn’t need any human effort to compose music.
B.It allows ordinary people to perform their own music.
C.It makes a challenge to the traditional definition of art.
D.It produces music works that are similar in styles.
2.The underlined part in Paragraph 4 implies that ________.
A.it is hard to tell AI artworks apart from human artworks
B.people will be charged for AI art in the near future
C.people don’t know what price of AI art is reasonable
D.the scarcity of AI artworks means it is one of a copy
3.Spotify was covered in the media because ________.
A.AI music can be performed free of charge
B.its musicians might not be paid fairly
C.playlists of its music did not actually exist
D.AI software has replaced human musicians
4.The writing purpose of this passage is to ________.
A.draw deserved attention to AI-made artworks
B.warn against the immediate threat from Al art
C.support the use of Al software in art creation
D.solve misunderstandings about AI’s role in art
Imagine that you’re the creator and show runner of the newest comedy show on television. Only it isn’t so popular yet, and your live Studio audience isn’t giving you the big laughs the show deserves. Do you film the show all over again, hoping that this time the audience will laugh? Or is there another option for making a joke sound funnier than it was received?
Sweeten(改善) the sound by adding a laugh track! “Sweetening,” or the addition of sound effects such as laughs, screams, and other audience-produced noises to the audio track of a TV show, has been used since the 1940s to produce the appearance, or rather the sound, of an engaged and entertained response to a show’s comedy. Laugh tracks came into existence as not only a solution, and sometimes replacement, for an unengaged live audience but also as a way to engage an at-home audience into a more-traditional, public, and theaterlike experience. Adding a laugh track to a television show makes the viewers at home feel much less like they’re sitting on a couch staring at the television screen and much more like they’re in a room full of laughing happy people to varying degrees of success.
Though the art of sweetening has risen and fallen in popularity over the past 60 years, credit for its creation and continued use is owed to laugh-track pioneer and sound engineer Charles Douglass. Douglass was the first to develop, in 1953, a machine for producing “canned laughter”, accessible at the push of a button or pull of a lever (操纵杆). Despite being artificial, sensibly edited laugh tracks are found by television studios to bring about a positive audience response, as their use is usually accompanied by higher ratings and increased audience memory. Though some television audiences may disagree with the value of the laugh track, the cheerful and repetitive sound holds a permanent place in the history and future of television comedy.
1.The author uses the first paragraph to .
A.introduce the topic “sweetening”
B.seek solutions for the problem
C.point out a way of making comedies
D.arouse readers’ interest in comedies
2.What effect does a laugh track produce?
A.The creation of a show.
B.Funnier sound in a show,
C.More engaged live audience
D.Communication among TV viewers.
3.What’s the author’s attitude towards the use of the laugh track?
A.Doubtful. B.Positive.
C.Neutral (中立的). D.Uncertain,
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The reason for using laugh tracks.
B.The brief history of laugh tracks.
C.The development of TV comedies.
D.The way to improve television shows.
The 3D-printing industry is accelerating its efforts to help fight the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.
On Tuesday, HP announced it’s working with those who bought its 3D printers to make medical face shields, hands-free door openers and an adjuster for face masks for medical staff who often must wear them for hours. It’s also testing “hospital-grade” face masks meeting the higher-end FFP3 (过滤式面罩) standard and parts for simple emergency ventilators (呼吸机) and it’s looking into nasal swabs to test for COVID-19 infection. HP also is offering free downloads of its 3D-printed medical equipment designs.
Carbon, whose 3D printers are used to make everything from bicycle seats to teeth straighteners, said it plans to send face shield designs to its network of customers who’ve bought its 3D printers. Carbon co-founder and Executive Chairman Joseph DeSimone said on Monday the company expects to send the designs by early Tuesday.
3D-printcr makers typically sell their products to others that actually do the 3D printing. One such customer, Ford, said Tuesday that it’s made 1,000 face shields and shipped them to Michigan hospitals, with plans to make 100,000 face shields a week. It is also working with 3M and General Electric on respirator masks and ventilator designs.
The effort is one of several to apply 3D-printing technology to the fight against coronavirus. 3D printing isn’t as fast at churning out products as conventional mass production methods. But 3D printers are flexible and able to make many different parts anywhere there’s a printer and raw materials like the plastic resins Carbon printers use.
Some 3D-printing efforts have focused on ventilators, which expected to be in short supply with a surge of COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory (呼吸器官) problems. Also in short supply arc N95 masks that can be useful in reducing the likelihood a wearer will spread COVID-19 to others.
Carbon’s DeSimone is cautious about the enthusiasm, though, saying that regulatory approval is important and that 3D-printcr enthusiasts shouldn’t be making components not intended for close human contact that might release unhealthy gases.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.An introduction about 3D-printing.
B.The 3D-printing industry’s efforts to help fight COVID-19.
C.The products that 3D-printing makers sell.
D.How 3D-printing makers produce medical equipment.
2.HP announced to help its customers to make the following products except for_____________.
A.medical face shields B.hands-free door openers
C.an adjuster for face masks D.emergency ventilators
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Carbon’s company will finish its design after Tuesday.
B.Ford has made 1,000 face shields end plans to make 10,000 more in a week.
C.3D printers are more flexible than traditional mass production methods.
D.Most 3D-printings focus on making ventilators and N95 because of their short supply.
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.3D-printing may release unhealthy gases.
B.DeSimone is cautious about 3D-printing.
C.Carbon’s company didn’t gain regulatory approval of making medical equipment.
D.3D printers aren’t enthusiastic about making components designed for close human contact.
We work with Cambridge County Council's Participation Team to create opportunities for young people to visit the University and learn more about it. The following events are scheduled for the 2019/2020 academic year.
SuperStar workshops
12 workshops are planned for young people aged 7 to 11. These half-day visits will be held throughout the year, at times when young people are not at school. If participants complete 8 of the 12 workshops, they will be awarded the nationally recognized SuperStar Crest Award.
Please note, workshops will only run if we have a sufficient number of attendees (usually around 3+ participants).
Explore University Days
Explore University Days are for young people aged 12-15. Participants visit the University for two days and take part in a variety of university-related workshops, and other fun activities.
Previous participants have joined in the following:
• Visited the Sports Centre
• Took part in a Neuroscience workshop
• Enjoyed a two-course meal at a University College
Dates will be confirmed in early December 2019, and a schedule for event will follow in the New Year.
Events for post-16 students
If you are studying for your post-16 qualifications and are considering applying for Cambridge or would like to find out more about a specific subject, the following events might be for you:
• University and College Open Days
• Subject Masterclasses
• Cambridge Science Festival
1.What can the participants do in SuperStar workshops？
A.To stay only half a day.
B.To get a gift.
C.To enjoy a free meal.
D.To visit the Sports Centre.
2.Which event is specially for applicants of Cambridge？
A.SuperStar workshops.
B.The Neuroscience workshop.
C.Explore University Days.
D.Events for post-16 students.
3.The events in the passage most probably aim to .
A.introduce some courses
B.advertise Cambridge University
C.enrich students’ spare time life
D.promote children’s interest in touring
请根据一下提示，以Travelling 为题写一篇关于旅游的短文。
1. 旅游的益处。
2. 旅游也可能有麻烦，如天气变化，丢失钱物等。
3. 旅游应做好准备。如天气、交通状况、结伴而行等。
文章必须包括所有要点，词数120-150； 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
