Brooke wanted a dollhouse and some sugar cookies. So the 6yearold Brooke asked Alexa to get them. It was a voiceactivated home assistant powered by AI. And it made Brooke's wishes come true.
Alexa isn't the only AI willing to serve you. Apple Homepod has Siri, Google Home has its Assistant, and the upcoming Galaxy Home device will have Bixby. People who have these devices use them mainly for listening to music, checking the weather, and setting timers. According to a report from The Information, nowadays voice shopping is rare. But many scientists predict a boom in voice shopping in the near future.
Convenience is the main advantage of voice shopping. You can shout out an order as soon as you think of it, even if you are cooking, cleaning, or driving.
But voice shopping has its disadvantages. Unwanted dollhouses aren't the biggest problem. It's usually very easy to cancel an order or return products. The thing that worries some people is that these assistants are always listening. They have to be able to respond when you want them. So they listen for “Alexa” or “OK Google” or another order. When they hear it, they start recording the conversation. Some have worried about what happens to these recordings. Should companies be allowed to use them to learn about people's shopping habits? And what if someone hacks the device? The CIA found a way to hack smart TVs to turn them into spies that listen all the time. Others could do the same with any smart device.
What do you think? Are you ready to start voice shopping?
1.From the passage, we know that Alexa ________．
A.can look after the baby
B.can cook delicious food
C.is a toy doll sold online
D.is one kind of AI device
2.What does the underlined word “rare” mean in Chinese?
A.罕见的 B.昂贵的 C.有害的 D.不可能的
3.What's the main advantage of voice shopping?
A.Its speed. B.Its price.
C.Its quality. D.Its convenience.
4.Which paragraph tells us that personal information might be recorded when trying voice shopping?
A.Paragraph 1. B.Paragraph 2.
C.Paragraph 3. D.Paragraph 4.
5.What is the best title for the passage?
A.The advantages and disadvantages of voice shopping
B.The voiceactivated home assistant—Alexa
C.The convenience of AI
D.Brooke's wishes
阅读短文，根据语篇要求填空，使短文通顺、意思完整。每空限填一词。
Although the world is hungry, it is even thirstier. While nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered with water, we are short of drinking water. Actually about 97% of the water on the earth 1. sea water.
2. can we deal with the problem of lacking drinking water? Firstly, we should save water instead of wasting it. Second, we 3. protect our water resources and not pollute them. Lastly, we should discover ways to reuse water. Scientists 4. got some achievements in this field. But people's need for water is increasing day by day. We still don't have enough water.
The sea seems to have the best answer.There is plenty 5. water in the sea. But we need to take the salt away from the sea water. This is very expensive. Many scientists can find cheaper ways to do it. Without doubt, we will solve the problem gradually.
A zerowaste life is a lifestyle that hardly creates any rubbish. So, a zerowaste theme store is about _____ people with a number of everyday, practical and pleasant zerowaste products to help them start on a onestop, zerowaste life journey.
“Zerowaste” or “danshari” was first _____ by a French woman Ben Johnson. “Live a life and try not to create any rubbish; use different methods to protect the earth.” she said.
Yu Yuan, 27, is _____ attracted by this idea.
She and her boyfriend have lived in Beijing for many years. And earlier she used to be a customer without thinking a lot _____ she saw a video about “zerowaste”．
The _____ is about a family of four, and the rubbish they produce every year is placed in a jar.
After watching the video, Yu wanted to _____ this zerowaste lifestyle with her boyfriend.
Yu says that a zerowaste life _____ the 6R principle—Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle and Rot.
Over August—October when Yu followed the principle of zero waste 6R, she and her boyfriend Joe Harvey both _____ only two cans of rubbish.
Now, the couple have opened a small _____ called The Bulk House in Nanluoguxiang, Beijing, to support a zerowaste life.
At the store they use environmentally friendly products. For example, they use wood products to replace ______ ones and prepare cloth bags printed with zerowaste logos for customers. Most of the products sold in the store can be reused, and a small number of ______ which are not recyclable can degrade. The store ______ has secondhand books and audiovisual CD/DVDs.
For used toiletries(things like soap and toothpaste that are used for cleaning yourself) there is a company which accepts them, and the couple regularly mails their waste to it.
Yu says that those who were once not ______ in the zerowaste lifestyle have gradually changed because of curiosity. The zerowaste lifestyle, she adds, is for everyone.
“It's ______ us at our fingertips.” Yu expects some of her friends to ______ her on the road to zero waste. As the saying goes, many hands make light work.
1.A.offering B.providing C.giving D.affording
2.A.invented B.found C.discovered D.suggested
3.A.hardly B.luckily C.clearly D.deeply
4.A.unless B.until C.after D.when
5.A.video B.film C.article D.newspaper
6.A.experience B.change C.represent D.spend
7.A.accepts B.receives C.follows D.believes
8.A.saved B.produced C.kept D.wasted
9.A.shop B.factory C.hotel D.company
10.A.paper B.cloth C.silk D.plastic
11.A.it B.them C.their D.its
12.A.too B.either C.also D.only
13.A.proud B.worried C.amazed D.interested
14.A.behind B.around C.ahead D.above
15.A.organize B.record C.join D.encourage
Earth Day is an event most commonly celebrated on the 22nd of April each year. It is a day on which people around the world take part in activities aiming at raising public attention about our mother planet and how to protect it.
1.
Below, we have listed 4 things you can do to make this a better place, a better world for the future generations.
▲Leave your cars at home
Cars, being the greatest source of air pollution, can be left at home this weekend. Travelling by public transport is the better choice.
2.
▲Be a little dirty
3.
A daily shower isn't a matter of health; it's a matter of comfort. Showering every day can wash away the natural oils that our skin and hair need.
▲Volunteer yourself
This is one of the best things you can do. Why? Because it will do you good too. Join other likeminded persons in a common task.
4.
▲Greenup your home
5.
Save energy by turning off all power whenever they are not in use. Besides, take out all the plugs from plug points even after turning them off.
Remember that every step counts. The future of our planet is in your hands!
A.If you have the time, there are lots of opportunities out there to offer help, for example, planting trees, cleaning a park or simply coming up with ways you can protect mother Earth.
B.No, we don't mean it ‘that’ way. We simply mean to say, don't take a bath. Yes, saving water is very important. A day or two without a bath won't harm you, but it will certainly do a lot of good for our planet.
C.You can celebrate Earth Day by showing your attention of environmental problems and by letting others know what they can do to make a difference. Even small actions can have great influence!
D.Turn off your home's lights when you leave. However, this is not something you should do just for a day or for only an hour on Earth Day.
E.Other greener choices are carpooling, riding a bike or you can also walk if you want a healthier lifestyle and if your workplace is not far away from your home.
校园旅行是让学生在繁忙的学习中得到放松的一种方式。请以“My special school trip”为题，用英语写一篇短文，描述自己一次特别的校园旅行。
要求：1. 文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称；
2. 词数100左右。
My special school trip
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sometimes choosing where to eat in Suzhou is something of a challenge. But for me, “Song He Lou Restaurant” is a great place 1. of its delicious food and a near perfect location.
Before coming to Suzhou, I 2. warned by my friends from other cities in China that the food could be too sweet. For the first few months I chose to eat in Sichuan style restaurants instead of eating local food. However, later I came to realize that the food is so closely connected with local culture. So I asked a local friend to recommend 3. best place to try real local food. She came up 4. the suggestion of Song He Lou.
For a first time visitor, 5. is a good choice to try “Song Shu Gui Yu” or “Xie Fen Tofu”. I was lucky to enjoy every dish on the menu.
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