The Covid-19 disaster will have many losers, ...

The Covid-19 disaster will have many losers, but it already has one clear winner: big tech. The large digital platforms, including Alphabet and Facebook, will come out of the crisis even stronger. They should use this good chance to reset their sometimes tense relations with their users. Otherwise the government is likely to do it for them.

Demand for online services has exploded and the infrastructure behind the internet has proved to be admirably reliable. Newcomers such as Slack and Zoom, which help businesses operate remotely, have become household names. Facebook has said that messaging activity has increased by 50%in those countries hit hard by the virus. Amazon is planning to hire 100,000 new staff to keep up with higher e-commerce.

Just as the big firms are standing even taller, many of the tech industry's younger, smaller firms are being crushed since the dotcom crash 20 years ago. Even before the coronavirus hit. trouble was starting to develop .Among many firms catering to consumers, the strategy of growing at all costs had turned out to be problematic, Some firms had already started laying off people. All this will make it easier for the big firms to hire the best talent.

If that happens, it is likely that regulators will do little or nothing to stop a round of expansion. In America antitrust(反垄断) investigations against Alphabet, Google's parent. and Facebook have essentially been put on hold, as officials deal with other priorities during a crisis. A new federal privacy law seems further away than ever. Even tech skeptics in the European Union want to rethink their approach to regulating artificial intelligence(AI). In an abrupt twist, big tech's business practice is essential to deal with the virus. Yet before Covid-19,such activity would have caused howls of great anger over privacy and prejudice.

In fact, more than ever it is clear that big tech firms play vital roles. There lies the trap, because almost everywhere other big firms, such as water or electricity, are heavily regulated and have their prices and profits capped(规定限额). Once this crisis passes, concerned citizens and governments could make a push for the state to have similar control over big tech.

The companies seem to sense this danger. Their best defence is to propose a new deal to the citizens of the world. That means clear rules on how they publish and moderate content, helping users own, control and profit from their own data, as well as fair treatment of competitors that use their platforms. This approach may even be more profitable in the long run. Today the most valuable firm in America is Microsoft, which has been more successful by building a reputation for being trustworthy.

1.The writer suggests the big techs use the outbreak of Covid-19 to　　　　 _

A.escape from the crisis of large digital platforms

B.improve their relationship with their users

C.ask for help from the government

D.demand more online services and reliable infrastructure

2.What has led big tech firms' business to increase rapidly?

A.The crush of the tech industry. B.The strategy of growing at all costs.

C.The stricter antitrust investigations. D.The loosened government regulations.

3.What does “that” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A.The easier access of best tech talents to big tech firms.

B.The severe unemployment rate in companies.

C.The fast spread of the coronavirus.

D.A new round of expansion of big firms.

4.In Paragraph 6,Microsoft is used as an example of___.

A.benefiting from good relations with its users B.catering to consumers whatever they want

C.sensing danger from other big firms in time D.being heavily regulated by the government

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Across the United Kingdom, as the COVID-19 crisis has bitten deeper, its citizens have started a new practice: Emerging from self-isolation every Thursday night at 8 p.m. to clap, cheer, and bang pots and pans to show support for the country’s front-line doctors and nurses.

But as the death toll today hit a single-day U.K. record of 980-and with the peak death rate still estimated to be two weeks away-the crisis caused by the scale of the pandemic has been worsened here by a new degree of political uncertainty. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the hospital on Sunday and has spent his days and nights in intensive care fighting the virus, surrounded by the doctors and nurses of the National Health Service.

The U.K. is not alone in showing new found public affection for key workers, nor in facing an unprecedented public health emergency that has, in Europe, especially affected Italy, Spain, and France. A recent U.K. government appeal for 250,000 volunteers to help the NHS (National Health Service) yielded an army of 750,000 would-be helpers.

But the pandemic finds the U.K. at a politically uncertain moment, as a nation finally emerging from three and a half years of political issue over its chaotic departure from the European Union. A December election that gave a decisive victory to Mr. Johnson and the ruling Conservative Party added clarity to a Brexit mandate and was seen by many as a potential first step in healing deep divisions in Britain’s political and social structure.

Acknowledging the impact of the coronavirus on daily lives, Queen Elizabeth II, in a rare address　 on Sunday, praised the “national spirit” and thanked NHS and care workers, whose “every hour” of hard work “brings us closer to a return to a more normal time.” Calling on citizens to “remain united and resolute” to overcome the pandemic, she sought to provide comfort. “While we may have still more to endure, better days will return We will meet again,” she said.

1.What contributed to worsening the current crisis in the U.K?

A.The pandemic of COVID-19. B.Political instability.

C.The vote for Brexit. D.The December election.

2.The British showed widespread support to the fight against coronavirus EXCEPT by　 .

A.clapping, cheering, and banging pots and pans every Thursday night

B.advocating volunteers to help the NHS

C.organizing 750,000 helpers to join the army

D.praising the “national spirit” in Queen’s speech

3.It can be inferred from the passage that　 .

A.The death toll set a new single-day record and the peak death had arrived

B.Prime Minister Boris Johnson was receiving good medical treatment

C.the COVID-19 has been found in European history

D.Conservative Party has healed the deep political and social divisions

4.Where might the passage come from?

A.A noticeboard. B.A private e-mail.

C.A research paper. D.A newspaper.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many of us have already lost the “race against the machines” - we just don’t know it yet. That is the conclusion of new research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Unlike most studies into the impact of automation, this one does not rely on informed guesswork about what machines will be able to do in 20 years’ time. 1. They are literacy, numeracy and problem-solving with computers - and compares our performance against the abilities of machines. The results are sobering, but rather than a reason to despair,

In the survey a group of computer scientists was given the same test and asked which questions computers could answer, using technology that exists but has not necessarily been rolled out yet in the workplace. The conclusion? Almost a third of workers use these cognitive skills daily in their jobs and yet their competency levels have already been matched by computers. About 44 per cent are still better than the machines. The remaining 25 per cent have jobs that do not use these skills every day.

There are two caveats. First, the OECD only asked computer scientists how well they thought machines could do. 2.. Second, just because technology exists does not mean it will be deployed quickly in the workplace. It depends on how easily it can be made operational, how much it costs relative to the value it creates, and whether companies have the appetite to invest.

3..　 Stuart Elliott, the author, concludes that in 10 to 20 years, only workers with very strong literacy and numeracy skills will be comfortably more proficient than computers. At the minute, only about one in 10 working-age adults in OECD countries are of this standard.

It is true that the education systems in most countries have been raising their game: younger people tend to have better skills than older people (the UK being one notable, and worrying, exception). But even if you take the most skilled generation in the most skilled country - young people in Finland - two-thirds still do not meet these top levels of literacy and numeracy. 4..

The risks to workers from ever smarter computers are clear, but the opportunities will lie in maximizing the value of their human skills. For some people, such as talented chefs, the battle is already won. Others might need to harness the computers to leverage their human talents.

A.And yet, the implication of the study are hard to dismiss.

B.on many of these fronts, computers are behind humans, if they are in the race at all.

C.Technology does not necessary mean doom to all but the highest skilled.

D.Instead it takes three basic and compares our performance against the abilities of machines.

E.Apart from astonishing improvement in education, it looks like only a minority of people can win this race.

F.The result would be more alarming if machine were actually put to the test.

高三英语六选四中等难度题查看答案及解析

– Will you please go to see the movie Guanyinshan with me?

– No, I won’t. I 　　　　　　 it already.

A. saw                    B. have seen                C. see

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The COVID-19 pandemic (疫情)has left many worrying about the future. However, I’ve found _______ in my mother’s one simple self-care ritual (仪式)and I have decided not to keep _______ in a sort of uncertainty.

I was _______--by a single mom who had two kids, two jobs and a mile - long _______of cleaning, cooking and bill-paying. _______　 ,she was never seen with a hair out of _______. Every morning, she’d head to a _______，lift her chin (下巴)up slightly, a gesture of confidence, and put on lipstick (口红) _______delivering a forced yet toothy smile. I was too young to _______ why.

My mother ________ her red lips until the very end. In hospital, she asked me to help walk her to the basin to brush her teeth. I stared at her from behind ________ she might fall. I was deep in sorrow and uncertainty, tears ________ down my face. Then suddenly, from behind, I sensed that ________ gesture. Chin up. Confidence. A second later I heard the click of the ________ .

We don’t know what’s going to happen next. Yet one thing is ________　 : When the world falls apart, we’ve ________ got unbelievable power to choose. I’m not suggesting we ________ what’s around us but focus on what we can control to ________ getting knocked around by uncertainty. Get up and shut the door on anything ________. Just be sure to keep putting that ________ on.

1.A.beauty B.knowledge C.strength D.evidence

2.A.drowning B.dreaming C.praying D.working

3.A.praised B.abused C.abandoned D.raised

4.A.roll B.pile C.list D.chain

5.A.Otherwise B.Therefore C.Besides D.However

6.A.sight B.place C.reach D.balance

7.A.mirror B.table C.comer D.wall

8.A.when B.after C.before D.till

9.A.ask B.realize C.doubt D.advise

10.A.wore B.bit C.read D.rounded

11.A.convinced B.relaxed C.surprised D.worried

12.A.streaming B.getting C.pulling D.pointing

13.A.different B.familiar C.proper D.strange

14.A.camera B.door C.lock D.cap

15.A.easy B.delicate C.sure D.necessary

16.A.even B.still C.already D.also

17.A.ignore B.examine C.favor D.hate

18.A.practice B.accept C.avoid D.finish

19.A.challenging B.discouraging C.amusing D.thrilling

20.A.power B.coat C.mask D.lipstick

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

After experiments on COVID-19, medical experts conclude that the chances of survival will be great, ______the infected person tests positive twice.

A.as though B.even if C.in case D.so that

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread far and wide. Because of this, countries around the world have carried out containment measures to help stop the virus in its tracks. As more and more people stay inside to stay safe, the outside world seems to have become much quieter. In fact, scientists have seen this change in their research, too.

Seismologists—scientists who study earthquakes—have heard a lot less seismic (地震的) noise recently. Seismic noise is made from vibrations (震动) in the ground that are caused by things like ocean waves and human activity, such as construction work and traffic.

Thomas Lecocq, a scientist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, located in Brussels, was the first to notice this phenomenon. According to Lecocq, the amount of seismic noise in Brussels has been reduced by about 30 to 50 percent since mid-March. Interestingly enough, this is around the same time Belgium started its containment measures.

Because of this reduction in background noise, scientists like Lecocq have been able to pick up on smaller earthquakes that some seismic stations—like the one in Brussels—wouldn’t have been able to before.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to Brussels, though. Once Lecocq shared his findings online, seismologists from all over the world echoed similar findings. Celeste Labedz, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, mentioned in a tweet that Los Angeles also experienced less background noise. “The drop is seriously wild,” she wrote. Researchers from the UK, France and New Zealand also noted a decrease in background noise since containment measures were put in place.

These global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus have helped to shed light on seismic activity that may have gone unnoticed. It also shows that people are listening to health officials and following lockdown guidelines.

1.What did seismologists find out recently?

A.More smaller earthquakes are likely to happen.

B.Less seismic activity has been detected recently.

C.Reduced seismic vibration makes Earth quieter.

D.Seismic noise is caused by vibrations underground.

2.What can we learn from the text?

A.More seismic noise is being picked up.

B.More data on smaller earthquakes is being collected.

C.Scientists will shift their focus to smaller earthquakes.

D.Future big earthquakes can be more accurately predicted.

3.What does the underlined word “echoed” in paragraph 5 mean?

A.Questioned. B.Demanded.

C.Explored. D.Repeated.

4.What can we conclude from the last two paragraphs?

A.The drop in seismic noise is unique to Europe.

B.Seismic noise is mainly caused by human activity.

C.Many seismologists wanted tighter restrictions for their research.

D.The phenomenon proved that people are practicing social distancing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Improved science and technology have greatly contributed to the quick response to CoVID-19, making possible the quick______of the new virus and the development of testing equipment for diagnosis.

A.identification B.transmission C.infection D.transformation

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Have you ever wondered ______ there are so many natural disasters across the world in 2010?

A. which it is that                      B. what is it that

C. how it is that                         D. why it is that

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

How to DIY Your Own Mask

During the outbreak of COVID-19, one of the must-have items is the mask. However, many countries are in bad need of medical masks and other protective equipment. 1. But we can make our own masks which can be used repeatedly. Now, let’s look at the most popular DIY method for soda bottle gas masks.

2. And it doesn’t require huge skills. With necessary materials and a little training, it can be made in 15 minutes.

To make such a mask project, you’ll require a sharp cutting tool, a market, glue, a 2-liter soda bottle, rubberized foam insulation strip (泡沫橡胶绝缘条) and one N95 mask. Total cost may be $5.

First, you’ll have to clean the 2-liter plastic bottle. After that, draw a U-shaped area using the marker. 3. Then start with a smaller cut and work your way up from there. Cut away the bottom of the bottle and you’ll end up with a basic shape.

Next, use the rubberized foam insulation as a seal for the edges of the bottle. 4. This will serve as a resting place for the N95 mask. Then cut off the N95 mask’s edging carefully. And place is inside the neck of the bottle. The elastic bands (橡皮筋) from the N95 mask will be used to secure the gas mask firmly on your face. Then a DIY gas mask is completed.

Do remember to keep the gas mask stored in a well sealed plastic bag. 5.

A.In this way you can make good use of the bag.

B.This can prevent it from getting polluted.

C.The soda bottle gas mask is very simple to make.

D.In this situation it is hard for people to get enough masks.

E.It should be big enough to fit your face and yet not too big.

F.Actually, the idea of DIY gas masks dates back to WW II.

G.You should also make a circle of foam insulation inside the bottle.

高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析