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What’s the English word for the Chinese food Jiaozi? Perhaps you would say “dumpling”. But in fact, you can just say Jiaozi. It has been added to the Oxford(牛津) English Dictionary.
People in English-speaking countries now understand more Chinese words and their spellings in pinyin, according to a recent report by the CFLPA (中国外文局).
The CFLPA studied 50 media platforms(媒体平台) in eight English-speaking countries, including the US, the UK and India. The report listed the top 100 Chinese words that people in these countries use most.
“Shaolin”, a temple in China that is famous for kungfu, was at the top of the list. Other popular words include “yinyang”, “gugong”, “renminbi”, “majiang”, “dama” and so on.
Some of the words are related(有关系的) not only to Chinese culture, but also politics, economics(经济) and technology. These words include zhongguomeng(Chinese Dream), yidaiyilu(the Belt and Road Initiative) and zhifubao(Alipay).
Why have these words become popular? It may be because of increasing interest in learning Chinese. The Confucius Institute(孔子学院), which offers Chinese lessons, has set up 1073 classrooms in 140 countries and areas, with 2.1 million students.
Chinese products are very popular around the world. For people in many foreign countries, products from China are part of their daily lives and may help them understand China better.
1.The CFLPA listed the top 100 most often used Chinese words by .
A.interviewing the people B.looking up the dictionary
C.studying 50 media platforms D.asking students of Confucius Institute
2.Many Chinese words have become popular, this may be because .
A.the CFLPA encourages people to learn Chinese
B.people’s interest in learning Chinese is increasing
C.they have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary
D.Chinese products help people understand themselves better
3.Many Confucius classrooms have been set up around the world, it’s proved that .
A.more and more foreigners are becoming interested in learning Chinese
B.products from China are popular with foreigners
C.not only Chinese politics but also Chinese words seem more interesting to foreigners
D.The Confucius Institute is the symbol of Chinese culture
4.We can probably read the article in a .
A.diary B.newspaper C.poster D.poem
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Are you still doing the V sign for victory? It’s out. The latest popular hand gesture is to curl(卷曲) both of your hands and put them together to make a heart shape. Known as “hand heart”, many young stars in the US including Justin Bieber, Blake Lively and Taylor Swift have done the move in recent photos.
“The heart-hand gesture means something between ‘I love you’ and ‘thank you’,” said the country singer Taylor Swift, “It’s a sweet, simple message which you can send without saying a word.”
Taylor Swift often puts her hands above her head in the heart shape at her concerts. And she is believed to be the first to make the gesture popular.
Last month during a charity show, Justin Bieber and his superstar friends did it to help out three kids whose parents were killed in a car accident. The gesture became a real hit after that. “It used to take longer for nonverbal(非语言的) culture to move. But now, with smart phones and the Internet, it’s much faster,” said Patti Wood, an American language expert(专家).
In Korea(韩国), the hand heart has been popular for a long time in a different way. People there like making a “bigger heart” by putting their hands above their heads and making a heart shape with their arms. It means “I love you.”
1.According to the passage, Taylor Swift has done Gesture in her photos.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 4 means .
A.Taylor Swift’s concert B.the V sign
C.the car accident D.the charity show
3.Nonverbal culture moves much faster nowadays than before because of .
A.superstars B.smart phones and the Internet
C.charity shows D.language experts
4.People in Korea like making a “bigger heart” by putting their hands above their heads and makinga heart shape with their arms. Picture gives the best description of the gesture.
A.
B.
C.
D.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Artificial intelligence(AI in short人工智能) can give computers and machines ability(能力) to think and work like humans. AI scientists and engineers have made much progress in this field.
Facial Recognition
AI is rapidly catching up with the human ability to read faces. Facial recognition(识别) is used widely in the world. Chinese police use this technology to identify(认出) criminals(罪犯). They had caught about 50 criminals at Zhang Xueyou's concerts by October, 2018. It also checks the ID of ride-hailing(网约车) drivers and lets people pay for things with a smile.
Self-driving Cars
Most drivers may wave or nod at passers-by(路人，行人) to let them cross the street, but self-driving cars don’t have this ability. Car makers are testing(测试) a light signal system(灯管信号系 统) to help them “speak” to humans. For example, if a driverless(无人驾驶) car is yielding(让路), it will flash two white lights side to side. A rapidly flashing light tells passers-by that the car is about to speed up(加速).
Service Robots
Imagine this—you come back home from school, and your robot housekeeper is waiting for you at the door. After dinner, he teaches you to play the piano, just like a real music teacher. Such thoughts will soon happen in the real world. In the future, more and more service robots will become good home helpers.
AI is so powerful that it can help human beings and even replace us in many jobs.
1.According to the passage, what is facial recognition used for?
A.Driving cars. B.Making people smile.
C.Calling the police. D.Checking people’s information.
2.Which technology has been used in real life according to the passage?
A.Service Robots at school. B.Robots as ride-hailing drivers.
C.Facial recognition for payment. D.Light signals for self-driving cars.
3. play(s) an important role in catching criminals.
A.Zhang Xueyou B.Service robots
C.Self-driving car makers D.Artificial intelligence
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.People use AI in many different ways.
B.AI will take the place of(代替) human beings in all jobs.
C.Self-driving cars will be able to talk like humans.
D.Criminals were caught for inventing facial recognition.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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What do you do if you are in trouble on a lonely island? Surely you need to find a way to get in touch with the outside world. Your best chance of doing this is to draw the attention of a passing plane.
Body signals
Pilots from different countries understand body signals if they have the correct training. When you wave your arms up and down in a straight line, it means “yes”. When you point downwards and swing your arm from side to side, it means “no”. If you want the pilot to know that it’s safe to land, push your hands in front of you and bend your knees. If you want to say it’s not safe to land, put your arms in the air and move them to one side.
Smoke signals
The smoke from a fire can be seen from far away, so it’s a good way to draw attention. If the weather is dry, it isn’t hard to start a fire. Remember, however, the fires can be very dangerous if they get out of control. Never light a fire unless you are sure that it can’t spread. If the ground is dark, light smoke can be seen more easily. Green grass and leaves produce light smoke.
Ground-to-air signals
It’s a good idea to build some signals, too. Use large pieces of wood to make the symbols. If you can’t find any wood, use earth. Some useful symbols are：
F “I need food and water.”
II “I need medicine.”
I “I am badly hurt.”
X “I am unable to move from here.”
Pilots’ replies
If the pilot lowers the plane’s wings from side to side, this means “message received and understood”. (At night, the pilot flashes the plane’s green lights.) If the pilot flies the plane in a clockwise (顺时针方向的) circle, this means “message received but not understood”. (At night, the pilot flashes the plane’s red lights.)
However, there is no signal which means “message not received”．
1.Which picture means “it’s safe to land”？
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.What can you use to build Ground-to-air signals on a lonely island?
A.Wood or earth. B.Grass and leaves. C.Wood and leaves. D.Sand or grass.
3.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The explanation of body signals on an island.
B.The importance of making signals on an island.
C.Ways of living on a lonely island.
D.Ways of sending out signals on a lonely island.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
