根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Have you ever taken photos by using mobile phones with selfie sticks(自拍杆)? 1.
However, a pair of US artists from New Mexico, Arie Snee and Justin Crowe believe they have invented a better one and they call it "selfie arm".
2. It makes those people in the pictures seem to be holding hands with a loved one. They say it offers a far better experience than using a straight stick. The selfie arm makes people feel they are not alone when they take photos. 3. They think their invention solves the main problem that the selfie stick has-people look alone while they are taking pictures of themselves with great interests. The product, at present, just an art project and a model conveniently provides you a welcoming arm. 4. The pair say they are fascinated by these new ideas.
The "selfie arm" is made of fiberglass. 5. The project that they work on shows the growing selfie stick Phenomenon(现象)directly and the increasing need for narcissism(自恋)and Internet agreement.
A.It is lightweight and easy-taking.
B.Thousands of "selfie arms" have been made.
C.It seems that they are together with their friends.
D.For better or worse, they have taken the world by storm.
E.This new invention is a small, useful and cleverly-designed tool.
F.And better yet in the future, it'll talk in a friendly way and never get angry or upset.
G.These ideas give them a lot of happiness.
US poet Allen Ginsberg once said, "Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind."
In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO discovers the special ability of poetry to express the human spirit.
The magic of poetry lies in the connection built up through words between the author and the reader. When we read a poem, we often imagine what the poet was thinking when they wrote it, or what they were doing at the time. These thoughts let us connect with the words better.
But in the age of AI(人工智能), would a poem still mean as much if it wasn't written by a human at all? Today, computers can create all kinds of texts, even poems included.
In 2013, Australian researcher Oscar Schwartz and his friend Benjamin Laird created a website called "bot or not", where readers can read poems and guess whether they were written by a human or a computer. During a recent speech at TedX Sydney, Schwartz said that throughout the years, some of the website's poems were able to fool 65 percent of human readers into thinking they were written by a human.
By starting the website, Schwartz and Laird hoped that people would question the difference between humans and machines and be able to find out what makes us human.
Unstableness(不稳定性)is part of the answer. "The human is not a cold, hard fact," Schwartz said. "Rather, it is something that's constructed(构成)with our ideas and something that changes over time."
A computer may be able to create poems that are correct in both grammar and style, but it wouldn't be able to get the same meanings and feelings across as a human poet could. In fact, today's AI software creates poems based on ones that have already been written by humans. As Schwartz noted, "The computer works like a mirror that reflects(反映)any idea of a human that developers teach it."
So a new challenge arises: What kind of human mind do we want the computer to reflect back at us?
1.What's the purpose of the first three paragraphs?
A.To introduce how World Poetry Day was started.
B.To show the popularity of poetry around the world.
C.To show the importance and beauty of poetry.
D.To give some tips on appreciating(欣赏).
2.What do the data(数据)from "bot or not" show?
A.Computers are better than humans at writing poetry.
B.Computers can also produce poems of high quality.
C.Readers don't really care whether the poems were written by humans.
D.Few readers can tell poems written by computers from those by humans.
3.According to Schwartz, what makes humans different from machines?
A.We have changing ideas. B.We often make mistakes.
C.We are stable in what we do. D.We value feelings over facts.
4.Why can't computers match humans in creating poems according to the article?
A.They can't express feelings as well as humans.
B.They can't create poems that make sense(说得通)at all.
C.They fail to use the correct grammar and style.
D.They only know how to copy poems written by humans.
How much do you know about Earth-the planet that we live on? Our knowledge of Earth has been developing since ancient times. However, many puzzles about Earth remain unsolved. Live Science has published a list of the eight biggest mysteries about Earth. Let's look at some of them.
Where did water come from?
When it first came into being 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was a dry rock. So where did all of our water come from? Scientists think that it might have arrived in the form of ice by an asteroid(小行星) from outer space that hit our planet. But this theory has not been confirmed because there is very little related evidence(相关证据)to be studied.
What's in the core(地核)?
Scientists used to study meteorites(陨石)as small examples of Earth, believing that Earth's core was made of iron and nickel(镍). However, a later study in the 1950s proved this way to be wrong because it found that Earth would be too light to provide gravity if its core contained only iron and nickel. Today, scientists continue to bring forward different theories, but none have been confirmed.
How was the Moon born?
Scientists have found that the chemical compositions(成分)of Earth and the Moon are very similar. That suggests that the Moon actually came from Earth. For example, it could be a piece of Earth that separated when Earth hit another planet. It is also possible that when Earth first came into being, it spun(旋转)very fast and threw off enough molten(熔化的)rock to later from the Moon.
1.What's the story mainly about?
A.How Earth came into being. B.Where Earth's water came from.
C.How the Moon was formed. D.Unexplained mysteries about Earth.
2.What do we know about where water may come from?
A.Earth's water may come from ice that melted 4.5 billion years ago.
B.Earth's water may come from a small planet that hit Earth.
C.We don't know where water came from.
D.There is lots of evidence that tells us where water came from.
3.What does the underlined phrase "bring forward" in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A.Check. B.Raise. C.Improve. D.Receive.
4.Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?
A.Scientists believed Earth's core was made of meteorites.
B.A study in the 1950s proved that Earth's core is made of iron and nickel.
C.The Moon and Earth are made of similar materials.
D.Three possibilities of where the Moon came from are mentioned.
In students' daily talks, celebrities(名人)are usually a hot topic, including their dress, behavior, families and other personal things. Then, is it a celebrity's job to be a good role model? Please read the following students' debate.
It's a celebrity's job to be a good role model because people usually look up to stars. If a celebrity drinks and smokes, his fans will follow him because they look up to the celebrity so much. If a celebrity's lifestyle is inappropriate for kids, then their parents should be more careful about what they let their kids see. | A celebrity doesn't have to try to be a good role model. They are famous because they worked hard at what they love for a living. They should, however, try to make good choices for themselves, not their fans. Lots of stars have to post apology（道歉）letters after being caught doing bad things. It's good, but if the only reason they do is to win back their fans, it's not good. | ||
I think everyone should try to be a good role model, even if you are not a celebrity! You can still be a role model to your sisters and brothers, a younger neighbour, or anyone. But I think celebrities should be very good, because they are role models for so many people! | Although it is a wonderful thing to be a good role model, that's not what the celebrities must do. They are famous because they love what they do and are good at it. Being a role model is never in the job. If the celebrity knows they are affecting the young people, they should try hard to set a good example. | ||
Pros(正方) | Is it a celebrity's job to be a good role model? |
Cons（反方） | |
1.Which of the following reasons is NOT from the pros?
A.People look up to the celebrities.
B.Everyone should try to be a good role model.
C.Celebrities get much love and support from fans.
D.Celebrities are models for many people.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to their words?
A.It is easy for stars to win back fans.
B.Stars may sometimes do something wrong.
C.Family members should encourage kids to be stars.
D.Even though a celebrity makes mistakes, young people should follow him.
A restaurant had one fallen upon hard times. Only five_________ were left: the manager and four others, all over 60 years old.
In the town near the restaurant there lived a successful businessman who was good at managing business, so the manager_______to ask the businessman if he could offer any advice that might save the restaurant. The manager and the businessman talked for a long period of time, but when he was asked for advice, the businessman _______for a while and then said, “I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the saver (救星) is one of you.”
The manager, returning to the restaurant_______, told the other people what the businessman had said. In the months that___________, the old restaurant workers thought carefully of the words of the businessman, “The saver is one of us?” They asked themselves. As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other with_______respect(尊重). And thinking that each of themselves might be the saver, they also began to treat themselves with more care.
As time went by, people coming to the restaurant_________that some respect and warm kindness were around the five old members of the small restaurant. Hardly knowing _______, more people began to come back to the restaurant. They began to bring their friends, and theirs brought more friends. Two _____________ later, the small restaurant had once again become a big food company, thanks to the businessman’s________. They understood that it was they themselves that were the savers.
1.A. cooks B. waiters C. members D. customers
2.A. hoped B. began C. allowed D. decided
3.A. stopped B. refused C. rested D. laughed
4.A. angrily B. hopefully C. lively D. nervously
5.A. following B. followed C. going D. gone
6.A. strange B. similar C. strong D. special
7.A. received B. advised C. felt D. wished
8.A. what B. how C. why D. when
9.A. years B. days C. hours D. minutes
10.A. advice B. words C. methods D. success
—Do you think I should accept the invitation to his birthday party?
—_________ If I were in your shoes, I certainly would.
A.None of your business. B.I don’t think so. C.It depends. D.Why not?
