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It seemed like a typical November day two years ago, as I walked out of Walgreens, a store near my house. It was just a month after my grandmother had passed away and I spent my days running useless errands (杂事) hoping to fill the emptiness in my heart and distract me from the pain.
As I attempted to walk out of the store, I felt exhausted and hopeless and began walking to my car. Suddenly, a woman driving right by my side rolled down her window. “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” she said loudly. Thinking she was going to ask for my parking spot, I simply pointed to my car. “No, excuse me,” she said again. At this point, 1 felt I had no choice but to see what this annoying lady wanted. Under a clutter of makeup, money, pens, and other belongings, she finally reached to the very bottom of her bag and handed me a three -page booklet. “It looks like you need this,” she said calmly with a warm smile on her face. I looked down at the mysterious and obviously used pamphlet and on the front cover in big bold letters read “What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?” It took me only a few seconds to understand the exchange with this woman, but by the time I looked up, she was gone. I felt a sense of relaxation as I opened the first page. It explained how people pass away, but their spirit remains with us. This was the first time since my grandma had passed that I felt her with me, just like I had wanted. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know that I finally felt happiness from the surprising change in events.
I couldn't, and still can't, believe what had happened to me on that day. It was a random day in November when my life turned back around and I began to feel hope again. It was real. It was a miracle. And, I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
1.Why did the author spend days doing useless things?
A.To kill her spare time. B.To relieve the suffering.
C.To reflect on herself. D.To make herself fulfilled.
2.Why did the woman say “Excuse me” so loudly?
A.To catch the author's attention. B.To get the author's parking space.
C.To share her experience with the author. D.To complain about the author's improper behavior.
3.What can be learned about the three- page booklet?
A.It included some mysterious stories.
B.It was a gift from her grandmother.
C.It gave people some advice on how to find happiness.
D.It showed that people's spirit would stay after death.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Love from My Grandma B.A Random Day in November
C.A Miracle at the Parking Lot D.Comfort from a Woman Stranger
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For a long time, hikers in Japan have considered a bear bell essential. Its tinny ring is said to scare off the huge creatures. Nowadays, however, bear bells are increasingly useful on the way to the shops as well as in the wild. “The number of animals whether bears, boars or monkeys- is expanding, and they are going into villages and towns,” says Hiroto Enari of Yamagata University.
Japan is home to many species of wild animals, including both black and brown bears. It's estimated that the number of bears has been rising since 2000. In 2018, the number was close to 13,000. The reappearance has its roots in human demography (人口统计学): the reduction of Japan's population is especially obvious in rural areas, where it is deeply influenced by ongoing urbanization. Usually, the bears are afraid of entering a village with people around. The appearance of bears is more seen in villages where the population is falling fastest.
Hunting is declining in Japan, too. Government data suggest that the average hunter is now 68 years old. The country's many forests and mountains provide an expansive habitat for wild animals. Indeed, wild areas are growing as foresters and farmers die off. Bears become particularly bold, running into villages for persimmon.
While some welcome the reappearance of bears, others suffer from it. Every year bears injure scores of people, and kill several. Besides, deer can cause damage to farmland. Simple solutions, such as changing the layout around villages or putting up fences, are rarely used. Instead, many bears are caught or killed. In 2013 the government resolved to reduce half the number of certain types of deer, boars and monkeys by 2023. “Japan is struggling to adapt to the changing power balance between animals and people," says Mr. Enari.
1.Why is a bear bell necessary for Japanese hikers?
A.Because it is tinny and convenient.
B.Because it can be used in the wild.
C.Because it can make special noises.
D.Because it can frighten wild animals away.
2.What makes the number of bears increasing so rapidly in Japan?
①Hunting is not as popular as it used to be.
②Bears can enter villages without people's permission.
③Japan' s population in the countryside is falling fast.
④Foresters and farmers are not allowed to kill bears.
A.①④ B.②④ C.①③ D.②③
3.The underlined word “resolved" is closest in meaning to “_________________”.
A.chose B.determined C.managed D.refused
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.Japan is trying to balance animals with humans.
B.People are in favour of the reappearance of bears.
C.Changing the layout or putting up fences is useless.
D.The reappearance of bears is harmful to human beings.
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Fairy tales perform many functions. They entertain, encourage imagination, and teach problem -solving skills. They can also provide moral lessons, highlighting the dangers of failing to follow the social rules that let human beings coexist in harmony. Such moral lessons may not mean much to a robot, but a team of researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) believes it has found a way to turn the instructive fable (寓言) into a moral lesson that artificial intelligence (AI) can take to its cold, mechanical heart.
This, the researchers hope, will help prevent the intelligent robots from harming or even killing humanity, which is predicted and feared by some of the biggest names in technology, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Cates.
Mark Riedl, an associate professor of interactive computing at Georgia Tech believes that the collected stories of different cultures not only teach children how to behave well but also teach robots how to get rid of violent or dangerous behaviour and help them make choices that won't harm humans and still achieve the intended purpose.
The system is called “Quixote”. The experiment involves going to a chemist to buy some medicine for a human who needs it as soon as possible. The robot has three choices. It can wait in line; it can communicate with the chemist politely and buy the medicine; it can steal the medicine. Without any further instructions, the robot will come to the conclusion that the most efficient means of getting the medicine is to steal it. Quixote offers a reward signal for waiting in line and politely buying the medicine and a punishment signal for taking it without permission. In this way, it learns the “moral” way to behave in that situation.
Quixote would work best on a robot that has a very limited function. It's a baby step in the direction of teaching more moral lessons into robots. We believe that AI has to be trained to adopt the values of a particular society, and in doing so, it will strive to avoid unacceptable behavior. Giving robots the ability to read and understand our stories may be the most efficient means.
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.The moral lessons learned by a robot. B.The coexistence of human beings and AI.
C.The new function of the fairy tales on AI. D.The different applications of the fairy tales.
2.What are the three technology experts mentioned in Paragraph 2 concerned about?
A.The potential threat from robots. B.The problems with moral lessons.
C.The high costs of AI development. D.The difficulties of the GIT scientists.
3.How does Quixote help the robot behave morally in the experiment?
A.By offering the robot rewards. B.By sending the robot different signals.
C.By helping the robot make right choice. D.By giving the robot specific instructions.
4.Which of the following may the author agree with?
A.The development of robots is still in a baby step.
B.Robots should have the ability to understand the fairy tales.
C.The more functions the robot has, the better Quixote works.
D.It is necessary to train robots to follow the social values.
