In 1941, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov stated the Three Laws of Robotics. These laws come from the world of science fiction, but the real world is catching up. A law firm gave Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University $10 million to explore artificial intelligence. Peter Kalis, chairman of the law firm, K&L Gates, said the development of technology had led to questions that were never taken seriously before. What will happen when you make robots that are smart, independent thinkers and then try to limit their freedom?
Researcher Kalis said, “One expert said we’ll be at a point when we give an instruction to our robot to go to work in the morning and it turns around and says, ‘I’d rather go to the beach.’” He said that one day we would want laws to keep our free-thinking robots from running wild.
With the law firm’s gift, the university will be able to explore problems now appearing within automated industries. “Take driverless cars for example,” Kalis said. “If there’s an accident concerned with a driverless car, what policies do we have in place? What kind of insurance policies do they have?” In fact, people can take a ride in a driverless car in Pittsburgh where an American online transportation network company uses the city as a testing ground for the company’s driverless cars.
The problems go beyond self-driving cars and robots. Think about the next generation of smartphones, those chips fixed in televisions, computers, fridges, etc., and the ever-expanding collection of personal data being stored in the “cloud”. So can Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics be used in reality? Is it necessary to have a moral guideline that everyone can understand? Whatever it is, doing no harm should be the very first one.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Robot should have more freedom.
B.Technology is running ahead of laws.
C.The Three Laws of Robotics are practical.
D.Peter wants to explore artificial intelligence.
2.What makes humans worry about robots?
A.Robots may be out of control.
B.Robots can do something illegal.
C.Robots can become angry easily.
D.Robots may have many requests.
3.What is the third paragraph intended to tell us?
A.It’s hard for robots to obey rules.
B.A law on robotics is really a must.
C.Driverless cars can cause accidents.
D.Driverless cars are being tested out now.
4.What should the basic law on robotics be according to the text?
A.Robots should be cautiously used in life.
B.Robots should obey Asimov’s Three Laws.
C.Robots should be easy for people to operate.
D.Robots should help with people’s life and work.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Winter plays a vital part in nature’s cycle teaching us through plants that “all good things must come to an end” over time. However, rebirth and restoration often brings a greater glory and appreciation for the natural beauty around us.
Each day when I take my bike for a spin around the city streets, I am reminded that technology also teaches us lessons, specifically when the bicycle chain unavoidably slips out of gear (齿轮), refusing to shift properly, the hand brake-lines keep reacting faulty and some man-made things need repair or replacement. “Winter is coming.” For many, this means a time to oil up, repair and adjust equipment. In the case of my two-wheel transportation, some people have suggested, “Why don’t you just get a new bike for safety’s sake?” My unwillingness, however, stems from loyalty, fond attachment. Also, I hold a belief that I should be a bit patient and resourceful, simply replacing worn-out parts when required.
However, as I try to swing my legs over the seat while getting on the bike, my legs and joint (关节) do not respond quickly and reliable like before. A few months ago, after hiking the Great Wall on an overnight camping trip, I realized I needed more rest and restoration than ever. My heart rate beat violently, and every muscle in my tired body screamed for relief. Admittedly, these pains were nothing like having a broken limb, or surgery. Yet, the world suddenly seemed to be very unfriendly. I keep telling myself “winter is coming.” and soon I can hibernate (冬眠) getting much needed rest.
Actually, we all need to take a break from training routines, hard jobs, and frequently repeated tasks, to restore (修复) our bodies and minds. Nature shows us the way. Patience pays off when you attend to your gardens with faithful attention to each of nature’s jewels. Hopefully, as we grow, each of us learns the art of repair, restoration, and patience. Perhaps, you will discover the glory of rebirth after winter, being reborn and restored to even more powerful magnificent glory.
1.Why does the writer refer to his shabby bike in the passage?
A.To introduce the topic.
B.To show he is so attached to it that he is unwilling to change it for a new one.
C.To show he has learned a lesson from it.
D.To inform he loves cycling it around the city.
2.What is conveyed by the word “winter” in the passage?
A.All good things must come to an end.
B.It is essential to keep a balance between work and life.
C.Patience pays off and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
D.We should learn the art of repair, restoration and patience from nature.
3.How does the writer get his idea across to the readers?
A.By making comparisons. B.By giving examples.
C.By analyzing and summarizing. D.By using metaphor (暗喻).
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.The Cycle of Nature B.The Vital Role of Winter
C.The Art of Nature D.The Lessons from Nature and Life
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Faces, like fingerprints, are unique. Did you ever wonder how it is possible for us to recognize people? Even a skilled writer probably could not describe all the features that make one face different from another. Yet a very young child or even an animal, such as a pigeon can learn to recognize faces. We all take this ability for granted.
We also tell people apart by how they behave. When we talk about someone’s personality, we mean the ways in which he or she acts, speaks, thinks and feels that make that individual different from others.
Like the human face, human personality is very complex. But describing someone’s personality in words is somewhat easier than describing his face. If you were asked to describe what a “nice face” looked like, you probably would have a difficult time doing so. But if you were asked to describe a “nice person”, you might begin to think about someone who was kind, considerate, friendly, warm, and so forth.
There are many words to describe how a person thinks, feels and acts. Gordon Ports, an American psychologist, found nearly 18,000 English words characterizing differences in people’s behavior. And many of us use this information as a basis for describing, or typing, his personality. Book worms, conservatives, military types people are described with such terms.
People have always tried to “type” each other. Actors in early Greek drama wore masks to show the audience whether they played the villain’s or the hero’s role. In fact, the words “person” and “personality” come from the Latin word “persona”, meaning “mask”. Today, most television and movie actors do not wear masks. But we can easily tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys” because the two types differ in appearance as well as in actions.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.People may have different personalities.
B.People differ from each other in appearance.
C.People can learn to recognize human faces.
D.People can describe all human features of others.
2.The reason that it is easier to describe one’s personality in words than ones face is that ________.
A.many words are available to describe personality
B.a person’s personality is easily distinguished
C.people’s personalities are very much alike
D.a person’s face is more complex than his personality
3.We learn from the passage that people are classified according to__________.
A.their way of wearing masks
B.their way of speaking and playing
C.their knowledge and behavior
D.their physical appearance and personality
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Feeling achy and feverish? Your misery has plenty of company. By the end of December, the tally (计数器) of flu-like illnesses in the state exceeded the peaks in the two previous seasons, when the biggest number of cases occurred in February and March. This time, the flu virus seems to be hitting even harder.
Flu is unique among human diseases. It circulates constantly in cool and dry areas. Because it spreads from person to person and can be picked up easily, nearly everyone is exposed. While it’s unclear whether the annual flu epidemic (流行病) will worsen this year, or just arrived earlier, fears have been increased by the severity of flu in Australia during its most recent season and the fact that the vaccine may protect against the predominant (盛行的) kind of the flu only 30 percent of the time.
Despite the worries, doctors and public health officials say there is no evidence that people are getting sicker than usual. Flu cases in Massachusetts started rising around Thanksgiving and increased steadily, with an especially steep climb in the last week of the year. “This is a bad flu season but not a horrible one,” said Dr. Andrew G. Villanueva, a lung specialist and chief quality officer at the Lahey Hospital & Medieal Centre in Burlington.
The flu season, while clearly in full swing, doesn’t “feel different” from previous years, Villanueva said. “We’re not seeing a lot of people being hospitalized because of flu,” he said. “Most people with the flu recover on their own without medical care.”
1.What’s the function of the first paragraph?
A.A lead-in. B.A comment. C.A summary. D.A background.
2.What can be learned about the flu this year according to the text?
A.The outbreak of the flu is terrible.
B.The flu has arrived earlier than before.
C.The vaccine against the nu is highly effective.
D.Everyone feels horrible at the mention of the flu.
3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Crowded B.Changeable C.Permanent D.Active
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To explain what flu is.
B.To rid people of flu panic.
C.To warn readers of how serious the flu is.
D.To inform readers how to prevent the flu.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
A scene from China’s biggest soap opera last year, Ode to Joy Season 2, has triggered much discussion on whether virginity is still a prized asset for women in “modern” China. In the scene, Qiu Yingying, a young but naive character, holds a dinner party to introduce her boyfriend to her friends, but the evening turns dramatic after her neighbour accidentally exposes her past relationship. Her boyfriend, Ying Qin, storms off, furious, expressing his thought that having sex before marriage is a moral spot for a woman.
However controversial the show is, it does reveal a universal phenomenon that sex education in China is often relatively backward and of minor significance. Parents very rarely share information about sex with children. What almost all parents do, however, is to warn their children, especially daughters not to have any dates before they graduate from university, fearing that they get hurt or become pregnant. There are stories of biology teachers skipping details of the reproductive system in class and ask students to learn it by themselves. Chinese communities also traditionally expect virginity before marriage.
Ren Yi, a student from East China Normal University, said it was perfectly reasonable for a boyfriend who was a virgin himself to require his girlfriend to be so. The only problem, she said, was if it was a double standard and the man expected virginity from a woman but not himself.
The issue was also being discussed by her university classmates in WeChat. Someone questioned why there wasn’t gender equality when it came to virginity, but another said she couldn’t accept Ying Qin’s comment on women who had sex before marriage.
While some still concentrate on virginity itself, others have shifted the focus of this debate.
Zhu Pingping, a Shanghai-based English teacher, commented that even debating the topic was old-fashioned in the 21st Century. She thought it was “disgusting” for the show to make an issue of it in modern cities, women are more independent and liberated, she said.
Her husband, Shen Peng, also a teacher, added that not everyone will and can advance with the times as he or she ages and some even want to restore the so-called traditional Chinese virtues of being a woman (女德), which from his perspective has long been used as a means to oppress women both physically and mentally throughout the history.
“Teaching students knowledge about sex doesn’t mean we encourage them to eat the forbidden fruit. Actually, it is just the opposite, because only when sex---like other aspects of lives---is dealt with frankly and appropriately in the educational process can the healthy growth of children raised in it be truly encouraged,” he said.
1.Which one of the following might be Wrong according to the first two paragraphs?
A.The TV series Ode to Joy Season 2 has brought female virginity to attention.
B.Qiu Yingying’s relationship has been buried with her previous romance revealed.
C.Parents and teachers tend to avoid answering questions about sex from children.
D.Sex education in China has weighed strongly in the current educational system.
2.It can be learned from the three interviewees’ opinions that ________.
A.a double standard encouraged in attitudes towards virginity is allowed
B.the topic on virginity is still worth public discussion in the present day
C.keeping pace with the times is not necessarily a natural outcome of age
D.teaching students sex is likely to lead them to have sex at an early age
3.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
A.Measures to advocate sex education
B.Historical evidence of female oppression
C.Professional comments on the show
D.Examples to illustrate the virginity issue
4.The author’s purpose for writing this article is to ________.
A.introduce a popular TV drama
B.explain a universal phenomenon
C.criticize the current education
D.arouse people’s food for thought
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
In a time when too much emphasis has been attached to utilitarianism (功力主义), it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that we people no longer believe in poetry. Utility is now often the standard of what one should devote his or her time and energy to and what he or she shouldn’t, but don’t get me wrong. I am not saying or stating that one should not consider utility at all when making crucial decisions. On the contrary, everyone should take it into account. Medicine, law, business and engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance and love, these are what we stay alive for.
My dad once told me that “life is suffering,”, which now I think is probably a unanimous (无异议的) opinion among most people. With a tough life inevitably comes a tough language---and that is what poetry is and why poetry is needed. It offers people a way to talk about the difficult-to-describe things in life, like death, suffering, profound joy and transformation. So whenever I hear someone say that poetry is not a must, or it’s an option, or it’s only for the educated middle classed, I suspect that he or she must have had things pretty easy.
But how can people live without poetry when poetry is nothing but a ceaseless flow of genuine human emotions? /unlike what the academics may tell you, my suggestion about bring poetry into your lives is that don’t analyze it and don’t ask others to analyze it. Don’t deconstruct it or try to make meaning of it. Just find the poems that wake you up, that make you feel as if you’ve submerged (沉浸) yourself in a mineral hot spring or an ice bath. Find the poems that make you feel almost irrational joy or sadness. Find the poems that make you want to roll around in them or paint their colors all over your bedroom ceiling. Those are the poems you want to play with. Find the poems that communicate with the deepest parts your being and welcome them in.
If finding others’ poems no longer satisfies you, compose your own! You don’t have yo be a poet to compose poetry. After all, poetry is not a luxury only for members desire or genuine willingness to vent feelings. It’s about searching for the real meaning of life and also about giving meaning to life. Just like Walt Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!”, a poem that ends by speaking directly to its readers: “the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse,” poetry is about everyone. And now I want to ask you the mother of all inspirational questions; “What will your verse be?”
Inspired by Jeanette Winterson’s book:
Why Be Happy When You Could be normal?
1.The author thinks that poetry is very important for human beings because it ________.
A.has nothing to do with the shared belief in utility
B.symbolizes a status as an educated middle class
C.offers a medium for describing hard experiences
D.reveals a fundamental truth that life isn’t all roses
2.To appreciate poetry by academic standards, one should first ________.
A.deconstruct and making meaning of it
B.enjoy a mineral hot spring or an ice bath
C.paint it over his or her bedroom ceiling
D.get consumed by irrational joy or sadness
3.The author quoted Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me! O Life!” to emphasize that ________.
A.only a true poet can write poems
B.no poem can appeal to everyone
C.life feels just like a powerful play
D.every human is entitled to poetry
4.The best title for the text may be ________.
A.Composing Poetry B.Poetry for Life
C.The Art of poetry D.Analyzing poetry
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
The Nobles are the originals, of course. Alfred Nobel, the man who invented deadly explosives, decided to try and do something good with all the money he earned, and gave prizes to people who made progress in literature, science, economics and-- perhaps most importantly--peace.
Not all rewards are as noble as the Nobles. Even though most countries have a system of recognizing, honoring and rewarding people who have done something good in their countries, there are now hundreds of awards and award ceremonies for all kinds of thing.
The Oscars are probably the most famous, a time for the (mostly) American film industry to tell itself how good it is and an annual opportunity for lots big stars to give each other awards and make tearful speeches. As well as that there are also the Golden Globes, evidently for the same thing.
But it’s not only films -- there are also Grammies Brits. the Mercury prize and the mtv for music. In Britain. a writer who wins the Booker Prize can expect to see their difficult, literary novel hit the bestseller lists and compete with the Da Vinci Code for popularity. The Turner Prize is an award for British contemporary artists -- each year it causes controversy by apparently giving lots of money to artists who do things like displaying their beds, putting animals in glass cases or -- this year -- building a garden shed.
Awards don’ only exist for arts. There are now awards for Sports Personality of the Year, for European Footballer of the Year and World Footballer of the Year. This seems very strange -- sometimes awards can be good to give recognition to people who deserve it, or to help people who don’t make a lot of money carry on their work without worrying about finances, but professional soccer players these days certainly aren’t short of cash!
Many small towns and communities all over the world also have their own award ceremonies, for local writers or artists, or just for people who have graduated from high school or, got a university degree. Even the British Council has its own awards for “Innovation in English Language Teaching”.
Why have all these awards and ceremonies appeared recently? Shakespeare never won a prize, nor did Leonardo Da Vinci or Adam Smith or Charles Dickens.
It would be possible to say, however, that in the past, scientists and artists could win “patronage” form rich people -- a king or lord would give the artists or scientists money to have them paint their palaces or help them develop new ways of making money. With the change in social systems across the world, this no longer happens. A lot of scientific research is now either funded by the state or by private companies.
Perhaps award ceremonies are just the most recent phase of this process.
However, there is more to it than that. When a film wins an Oscar, many more people will go and see it, or buy the DVD. When a writer wins the Nobel Prize, many more people buy their books. When a group win s the/MTV awards, the ceremony is seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the world. The result? The group sells lots more records.
Most award ceremonies are now sponsored by big organizations or companies. This means that it is not only the person who wins the award who benefits - but also the sponsors. The MTV awards, for example, are great for publicizing not only music, but also MTV itself!
On the surface, it seems to be a “Win-win” situation, with everyone being happy, but let me ask you a question -- how far do you think that publicity and marketing are winning here, and how much genuine recognition of achievement is taking place?
1.What is the author’s tone when he mentions awards such as the Oscars the Golden Globes and Grammies?
A.Amused B.Appreciative.
C.Sarcastic. D.Serious.
2.According to Para. 4, what would happen to award winning writers?
A.They would enjoy a much larger readship.
B.They would turn to popular novel writing.
C.They would continue non-fiction writing.
D.They would try controversial forms of art.
3.Which of the following statements best sums up para. 6?
A.Awards ceremonies are held for local people.
B.Awards ceremonies are held on important occasions.
C.Awards ceremonies are held in certain professions.
D.Awards ceremonies are held for all sorts of reasons.
4.One difference between scientists and artists in the past and those at present lies in ________.
A.nature of work B.personal contact
C.source of funding D.social status
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
You know you have to read “between the lines” to get the most out of anything. I want to persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. I want to persuade you to “write between the lines”. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading.
I insist, quite bluntly, that marking up a book is not an act of damage but of love. There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property right you establish by paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. But this act of buying is only the first step to possession. Full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it. A comparison may make the point clear. You buy a piece of beef and transfer it from the butcher's icebox to your own. But you do not own the beef in the most important sense until you eat it and get it into your blood. I am arguing that books, too, must be absorbed in your blood to do you any good.
There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and bestsellers — unread, untouched. The second has a great many books — a few of them read through, most of them dipped into, but all of them as clean and shiny as the day they were bought. The third has a few books or many — every one of them worn, shaken and loosened by continual use, marked and scribbled (涂写) in from front to back.
Why is marking up a book necessary to reading it? First, it keeps you awake.(And I don’t mean only conscious; I mean wide awake. ) In the second place, reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The marked book is usually the thoughtthrough book. Finally, writing helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts the author expressed.
1.The third kind of owners of books must be ______.
A.experienced readers B.untidy readers
C.active readers D.careless readers
2.Marking up a book means ______.
A.writing down difficult sentences
B.finding the extra meanings of unknown words
C.writing in the space the ideas you get through careful reading
D.making notes to show you understand what you have read
3.What does the author persuade you to mark?
A.Whatever you have given deep thought to while reading.
B.Words and sentences that bring up rich ideas.
C.Primary questions that challenge you.
D.Whatever disagreements you may have with the book
4.A great advantage of marking up a book is ______.
A.to absorb all the brilliant ideas it contains
B.to make yourself a part of it
C.to make yourself conscious that you are reading actively
D.to enable yourself to pick up the book for continual reading
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Outside, it's a cold winter's day. Inside a large shopping center, people are hanging around. But then, without warning, a pop song starts to play loudly. A teenager boy walks lazily to the center of the open space, and dances crazily to the music. He's joined by two of his friends, then some of the old people. Within the space of a few seconds, more than sixty people are dancing to the music - all in time and all in step. At first, onlookers are baffled, then they start smiling and clapping. They now know what they're seeing: a flash mob (快闪).
According to Wikipedia, the term "flash mob" was created by Bill Wasik, an editor at Harper's Magazine, in 2003. Within a year, the phrase had entered the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Since then, hundreds - possibly thousands - of flash mobs have been carried out around the world, in almost every kind of public space imaginable!
Each flash mob has its own style, but most flash mobs follow a similar formula (方案). Often, the organizers search for willing participants using social media. Instructions and dance moves are given through email or video download. There are usually several rehearsals (排练) before the big day.
While it's happening, a few lucky passers-by watch it live. Most people who watch it, however, will see it later online. Some of the most popular flash mobs on YouTube have been watched more than 10million times. A famous example is MP3Experiment Eight, a flash mob that took place in New York City in July 2011 with over 3,500 participants. This event differed from normal flash mobs in that much of it was completely silent - and there were no rehearsals.
Flash mobs provide the participants, onlookers and online viewers with a lot of enjoyment and pleasure. For this reason alone, they're a modern, popular art form that should be celebrated.
1.What does the underlined word "baffled" in Paragraph 1 mean? ______
A.Excited. B.Puzzled.
C.Satisfied. D.Disappointed.
2.Why does the author mention the Concise Oxford English Dictionary? ______
A.To argue against Bill Wasik.
B.To compare it with Wikipedia.
C.To explain the meaning of "flash mob".
D.To show the rapid development of flash mobs.
3.What is special about MP3Experiment Eight? ______
A.It was played online.
B.It was the earliest flash mob.
C.It was played with no sound.
D.It was most accepted by the audience.
4.What is the author's opinion on flash mobs? ______
A.Supportive. B.Hopeless.
C.Uncaring. D.Doubtful.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Not only does the use of plastic water bottles hurt your wallet, it also increases pollution and wastes energy and water. Only 23% of all plastic in America ends up in a recycling bin, meaning over $ 1 billion worth of plastic is treated as rubbish a year. Recently, Skipping Rocks Lab has invented a kind of water bottle called Ooho.
It is a convenient, clear water bottle that can either be drunken or eaten. To drink it, you can either peel off the membrane(薄膜) or tear a hole in the membrane with your teeth to pour the water into your mouth. To eat it, you simply put the whole bottle in your mouth. One problem the scientists have run into is how to ship large amounts of Ooho bubbles(水泡) without arriving with a very wet truck. However, they have attempted to package units of individual bubbles together inside a larger and thicker membrane. It is targeting large outdoor events, such as marathons, music festivals, and sporting events, where tons of plastic bottles are used, and frequently left behind as litter. And too much plastic is sure to do harm to the environment, which could account for their purpose of such a new invention.
The team has been working for the past two years to develop the technology and materials needed to produce Ooho; they have recently applied a patent for their new advancements. The price for an individual bubble or a unit of bubbles has not been set yet, but they cost about two cents to create a unit, which is cheaper than plastic bottles. It has appeared at events in London, San Francisco, Boston, at conferences, festivals, and so on.
Ooho is catching many people’s attention and has raised over $ 1 million and gained 1,000 investors in only three days. It is mostly being sold at events at the moment to keep the consumer’s interest while the production machine is getting up and running. It is quickly making a rise,so keep an eye out this year for these bottles of the future.
1.How is most plastic dealt with in America?
A.It’s sold. B.It’s recycled.
C.It’s buried. D.It’s wasted.
2.Why did the team invent Ooho?
A.To make a profit for a company. B.To protect the environtnent.
C.To make people eat as they drink. D.To reduce the cost of plastic bottle.
3.What can we infer about Ooho from the text?
A.It is easy and safe to ship it in large amounts.
B.It has become popular since it began to be sold.
C.It might be sold at a lower price than plastic bottles.
D.It cost the team a lot of money to develop the technology.
4.What does the author really want to say in the last paragraph?
A.Ooho is to be a success in the future.
B.Ooho is being supported by smart people.
C.Ooho is taking the place of plastic bottles now.
D.Ooho is being produced to attract more investors.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析