Microsoft has developed a new smart phone app that identify eye signals and translates them into letters, allowing people with motor neurone disease (运动神经元症) to communicate with others from a phone.
The GazeSpeak app combines a smartphone’s camera with artificial intelligence to recognize eye movements immediately and change them into letters, words and sentences.
For people suffering from ALS (渐冻症) , also known as motor neurone disease, eye movement can be the only way they are able to communicate.
“Current eye-tracking input systems for people with ALS are expensive, not strong under sunlight, and require frequent re-adjustment and material, relatively steady setups,” said Xiaoyi Zhang, a researcher at Microsoft who developed the technology.
“To ease off the disadvantages, we created GazeSpeak, an eye-gesture communication system that runs on a smartphone, and is designed to be low-cost, strong, portable and easy to learn.”
The app is used by the listener by pointing their smartphone at the speaker. A chart that can be stuck to the back of the smartphone is then used by the speaker to determine which eye movements to make in order to communicate.
The sticker shows four grids of letters, which each is equal to a different eye movement. By looking up, down, left or right, the speaker selects which grids the letters they want belong to. The artificial intelligence is then able to predict the word or sentence they are trying to say.
Zhang’s research, Smartphone-Based Gaze Gesture Communication for People with Motor Disabilities, is set to be presented at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in May. (265)
1.According to the passage, people with ALS can communicate with others by __________.
A. eye contact B. body language
C. hand shaking D. language expression
2.Which of the following is NOT the advantage of GazeSpeak?
A. cheap B. unsteady
C. accessible D. learnable
3.How do the speakers use the app?
A. They point at the letters they want on the phone.
B. They predict the word or sentence they try to say.
C. They turn to the listeners to speak out the letters for them.
D. They look in the four directions to choose the grid of letters.
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the text?
A. People Suffering From ALS Needs Help
B. Smartphone App Helps ALS Sufferers Speak With Eyes
C. How Do People With ALS Communicate With Others
D. Researchers Develop The New Smartphone App
Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit; most people don’t even notice that they’re doing it when they sit down. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.
A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason this happens is because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart, crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate. This causes your body to increase your blood pressure to push the blood back to the heart. You won’t feel any immediate effects, but if you sit for long periods of time it’s important that you take note of how long you have your legs crossed for. You shouldn’t have your legs crossed for more than 15 minutes, and it’s important that you get up and walk around at least once every hour.
Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it’s best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor, but it’s not easy to maintain perfect posture all day at the office. When you sit with your legs crossed your hips are in a twisted position, which can cause one of your pelvic bones to rotate. Since your pelvic bone supports your neck and spine, this can cause pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.
You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get tingly or have the feeling of being asleep. This is because when one leg sits on top of the other it causes pressure on the veins and nerves in your legs and feet. It can cause numbness and/or temporary paralysis in the legs, ankles, or feet. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.
So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.
1.Why can sitting with your legs crossed increase your blood pressure?
A. Because it stops the blood circulating
B. Because it press the nerves in our legs.
C. Because we will be in a twisted position when we sit legs crossed.
D. Because it prevents the blood in your legs from pumping back to heart.
2.Which kind of health problems will we have if we cross the legs for a long time?
A. our blood pressure will increase.
B. Our neck and back will pain.
C. Our feet and legs may get tingly or have the feeling of being asleep.
D. Both A, B and C.
3.What does the author suggest us do when we sit down?
A. We should walk outside at least once every hour.
B. We need put one leg on the top of the other.
C. We’d better sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor.
D. We should choose the most comfortable way to sit.
假设你叫李华，现在是重点高中的一名新生。请根据以下提示，给你初中的英语老师王老师写一封感谢信，表达对他的爱戴和尊敬。内容包括：
1.对王老师教学的评价；
2.回顾在校时你的心情；
3.对老师的理解和祝愿。
注意：1.词数80--100
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.书信的开头与结尾已为你写好，但不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Wang,
I’m very excited to write to express my thanks to you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways. 1. Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.
You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. 2. Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process. 3.
The following methods may work best for you.
● Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.
● Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.
● Write your notes in your own words.
● 4.
● Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.
As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand (速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols (符号) and that you use them all the time. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.
A. Use words, not complete sentences.
B. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.
C. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.
D. You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.
I owe my father a huge thank you! Sure, I need to thank him for all those years of paying my bills, fixing my bikes, and providing a shoulder to cry on. But this year I realized that his contributions to my childhood were much more than that.
I grew up as Daddy’s Little Girl. If I had a problem that needed fixing or a question that needed answering, he was the one I ran to. He helped me get through everything from math homework as a high school student to career choices as a young adult. He always expected that I do my best in whatever I did, and he believed I could succeed in anything I put my mind to. As a result, I learned to hold myself to those same standards. He always showed me unconditional love, which helped me learn to love myself. It was something I’d taken for granted until I realized from talking with my friends that they had no similar view of their self worth. Having fathers that didn’t believe in them left them to grow up not believing in themselves.
As I was growing up, my father also modeled how a woman should be lavished. He treated my mom with love and respect. As a result, I grew to expect nothing less than that from the men I dated and from the man I would eventually marry. Dad was a living picture of godliness（虔诚）, honesty and responsibility. It was only recently that I realized what a deep effect fathers have on their daughters’ lives. That is why I want to thank my dad for the godly example of love that he has been to me throughout my life.
1.From the second paragraph, the author thinks it is the most valuable that ________.
A. her father was very strict with her.
B. her father helped her a lot in every way.
C. nothing was difficult if her father was on her side.
D. Father’s trust deeply influenced her self-confidence.
2.What does the underlined word “lavished” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Loved B. Respected
C. Treated D. Spoiled
3.Who would the author turn to when in trouble?
A. Her friends. B. Her mother
C. Her husband D. Her father
4.The feeling the author wants to express to her father in this text is ________.
A. grateful B. sad
C. proud D. pitiful
Swimming and English Learning
Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well, how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice, practice and practice.
Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate and speak. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed, try to catch every word.
Somebody may be a good listener. But he dare not speak. He’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well, you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important when there’s nobody to talk with, you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember, the more you speak, the fewer mistakes you’ll make.
Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is the most important.
Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.
Easier said than done. Well, let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English well in this way.
1.We should learn English by _______.
A. listening and speaking B. reading and writing
C. A and B D. swimming
2.What will you do with mistakes when you speak?
A. Don’t make mistakes. B. Study hard
C. Try not to speak English D. Don’t be afraid.
3.What’s more important for senior school students?
A. listening B. speaking
C. reading and writing D. learning
4.We can listen to English ______, according to the passage.
A. by train B. on the radio
C. every minute D. now and then
