Put “crottin de chevre” into Google Translate, and you’ll be told it means “goat dung (粪) So if it appeared on a menu, you might feel sick of it. Actually, you have missed a delicious cheese made of goat’s milk that is often served as a starter in France.
Such misunderstandings are why Google admits that its free tool, used by about 500 million people, is not intended to replace human translators. Tourists might accept a few misunderstandings because the technology is cheap and convenient. But perhaps in business, law or medicine, these services often fall short. “Using Google Translate can lead to some serious errors, especially when words have multiple meanings, which is often the case in fields such as law or engineering, says Samantha Langley, a translator in France.
That is not to say professional translators do not use Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools. Some applications can help them take the dull work out of repetitive translations. CATs are even used as part of modern language degree courses these days. So how good are they?
One of the most popular new tools is the so-called translation earphone. Usually paired with a smartphone app, they pick up spoken foreign languages and translate them for the user. “It has taken decades of research to combine that with speech recognition technology, which has allowed us to make a huge leap forward in terms of accuracy,” says Andrew Ochoa, chief executive of Waverly Labs, which produces translation earphones. “For meetings and conferences, wearable translators like Waverly’s are undoubtedly popular. But even this new generation tech has limitations. Users must wait at least a few seconds for a phrase to be translated, or more if the internet connection is poor.”
And computers still lack the subtlety (微妙) of human communication. “I find it’s actually harder to desert part of the sentence and rebuild it than to just create something from scratch.” says Antonio, a translator. But he thinks this problem could be resolved within the next 10 years.
1.What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1?
A.Add some more related information.
B.Provide some advice for the readers.
C.Introduce the topic of the text.
D.Summarize the following paragraphs.
2.How do professional translators do to improve their working efficiency?
A.By changing Google Translate. B.By surfing online.
C.By working with engineers. D.By using CAT tools.
3.What advantage does the translation earphone have compared with many CATs?
A.It is more accurate. B.It is more attractive.
C.It is cheaper. D.It is smaller.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A.Are Computer Translators Good?
B.Why do Human Translators Need Help?
C.What Is the Problem of Human Translators?
D.Can Computer Translators Replace Human Translators?
No video games are allowed after 10 pm. It is not allowed to play games for more than 90 minutes on non-holidays. No more than 400 yuan per month is allowed to buy virtual weapons and costumes.
The Chinese government has issued new regulations aimed at controlling teenager’s addiction to video games. Some officials believe that this problem is the reason why more and more young people are suffering from myopia (近视) and poor learning. The rules forbid users under the age of 18 from playing between 10 pm and 8 am. The rules demand that they shouldn’t play more than 90 minutes on non-holidays and more than 3 hours on weekends and other holidays.
Officials have taken stronger measures to monitor large technology companies and promote them to help spread the advocated cultural values. The official media regarded some games as “poisons” and banned some violent games. In addition, minors (未成年人) must use real names and ID numbers when they log into the game. These regulations also limit the a-mount of money that teenagers can use to purchase virtual items such as weapons, clothing, and pets through the app.
Analysts said that these regulations have been largely predicted by the industry and are unlikely to affect its earnings. However, young gamers may also find ways to bypass (绕开) the rules, such as using the parent’s phone number and ID number. “There will always be something imperfect,” said Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners. However, he added that thanks to the regulations, China is now one of the most regulated video game markets in the world.
Yang Bingben is the owner of an industrial technology company. He noticed that his son often plays games that don’t require networking and is difficult to control. “We have something new to replace the games,” he said, “our thinking should be to build more stadiums, such as football stadiums and basketball courts.”
1.The new regulations will help Chinese teenagers with their ________.
A.intelligence B.personalities
C.study and eyesight D.constitutions and morals
2.What did Daniel Ahmad think of the regulations?
A.They are adjustable. B.They are effective.
C.They are creative. D.They are worthless.
3.What can be inferred from Yang Bingben’s words?
A.Teenagers are spending more time in the stadiums.
B.Football and basketball will be popular with teenagers.
C.Getting rid of the addiction to video games is impossible.
D.Doing sports helps prevent teenagers playing video games.
4.In which section of a newspaper can you read the text?
A.Literature. B.Education.
C.Fashion. D.Sport.
When I was six, I was so desperate to be out in nature. I’d be transported through David’s documentaries (纪录片) to all these amazing places. I did a PhD studying ants and butterflies, before getting a call from the BBC asking about my work for a show called Life in the Undergrowth. I was so excited and immediately begged, “Please let me help!”
Sir David himself came to film with me, so I got to meet him early on, and he is the loveliest person. Something was wrong with the car. He dived straight under it to try to fix it. His enthusiasm and passion was so real. The first trip I did with him was to Israel as an assistant producer, then in Madagascar. My dream came true.
Usually, we spend six weeks filming for about three minutes of TV. What usually happens is that we’re going to film one thing but the animal ends up doing something else. We stay in whatever basic accommodation is the closest, because we can’t waste time on the way. So it’s rare that we stay in a hotel. Patience is the key, then learning and listening.
Of course you encounter animals that could hurt you. There was a moment on Planet Earth where a wolf approached me and we had to push it off with a camera. During filming for Seven Worlds we came across a beautiful but deadly snake, which casually came into our room. I took it up in a hat and put it back into the jungle. I still remember the chimps in Senegal jumped on a tree next to me and pushed it to the ground. He was like saying, “You can stay here, but if I wanted to crash you, I could.”
When we film certain animals, like lions for example, we must be vigilant. We know they will attack other creatures for their territories, but there’s something fascinating in the small creatures. I’ve always cared about these beautiful lives and the planet. I desperately want to preserve the creatures in the natural world.
1.Why did the author agree to work for BBC?
A.He could work with David. B.He would travel abroad.
C.He could study more animals. D.He would become famous.
2.Which of the following is the most important for the author’s job according to the text?
A.Enthusiasm. B.Listening. C.Patience. D.Observation.
3.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A.Clever avoidance keeps animals away. B.Filming in nature has potential danger.
C.The author prefers strange experiences. D.Violent behaviors are common in the wild.
4.What does the underlined word “vigilant” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Cautious. B.Strict. C.Energetic. D.Powerful.
Some successful brands are memorable for their creativity. They convey accurate information to us. However, some of these origins are very interesting.
The world’s largest search engine has developed a brand. Its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin knew their company’s potential when they were freshmen at Stanford. The original plan was to name it “googol”, which meant “a huge number”, but Larry Page misspelled it as “Google”. Both the site and the company registered “Google”. However, this error distinguishes “Google” from other search engines.
McDonald’s
The original name came from the last name of the inventors: Maurice “Mac” and Richard “Dick” McDonald. Before 1940, they owned and operated a successful restaurant, but once World War II was over, they decided to try a new system to reduce the time people spent waiting for their food. So the first McDonald’s opened in 1948. Over time, their simple and bright colors have made it one of the most recognizable symbols on the earth.
Rolex
Hans Wilsdorf, founder of the Rolex brand, says he wants a short watch name to pronounce easily. After combining all the letters and coming up with 100 possible names, none of them fit the bill. But a trip on a horse-drawn ride changed the fate of his company, because a “genius”, as he called it, whispered the word “Rolex” into his ear.
IKEA
Founded in 1943, IKEA went from selling all kinds of objects to becoming the benchmark of Swedish creativity worldwide with its furniture and facilitates packaging. The word IKEA is a combination of the first letters of founder’s first name and last name: Ingvar Kamprad, the farm where he grew up: Elmtaryd, and the town in southern Sweden where it was located: Agunnaryd.
1.What contributed to the brand “Google”?
A.The company’s plan. B.Larry Page’s mistake.
C.The company’s potential. D.Sergey Brin’s creation.
2.What was the original intention of McDonald’s?
A.To earn more money.
B.To create simple and bright colors.
C.To offer convenience for customers.
D.To expand the business to the world.
3.Which brand has something to do with the founder’s hometown?
A.Google. B.McDonald’s. C.Rolex. D.IKEA.
假定你是李华，得知美国外教Peter最近经常头痛，西医疗效不佳。请你给他写一封电子邮件，推荐中医治疗，简介中医的优点（如副作用小、价格低等），愿意帮助，并期待他早日康复。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
I’m sorry to learn that …
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意： 1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
When I was young, I was terribly poor in the Chinese. Be afraid of expressing myself was one of the reasons that I rarely did well in school. Once I failed in a mid-term exam. When I got the papers, I realized things could have been better if I listened to the teacher much more attentive. So I turned to my teacher for helps and he told me, “Where there is a will, there is a way. If we are devoted to learning Chinese, you’ll make it.” I couldn’t agree much. From then on, I began to work harder. Out of my expect, I made great progress soon. Today, Chinese is where my strength lies. And I’m grateful for my Chinese teacher.
