On my fourth day in a self-driving car, I fin...

On my fourth day in a self-driving car, I finally felt comfortable enough to let it stop itself. Before then, I'd allowed the car-a Volvo S90 sedan-to control the direction, with my hands still on the wheel, and to adjust speed in traffic. By Day 4, I was ready to make a jump into the future.

With the car traveling on a busy road, I activated the driverless mode. Soon, a traffic light turned red. For a split second, I prepared to get on the brakes. There was no need. The cameras and computers in the Volvo recognized the traffic conditions and smoothly began applying the brake.

If you're anything like most people, you're familiar with this anxiety. Almost 80 percent of Americans fear traveling in a self-driving car, a recent survey found.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have conducted some clever experiments studying the phenomenon. They asked participants to complete tasks and compare their performance with a computer system's. After the computer made a mistake, people were unwilling to use it again. After the people made mistakes, their self-confidence wouldn't change. It didn't matter that the human beings made more mistakes than the computer. So it is with driving. More than 37,000 Americans died in crashes last year, most from human error. The death count from cars goes beyond that from guns. So if you are shocked and angry by guns and want things to change, you should feel the same about car crashes.

Technology creates an opportunity to save lives. Computers don't get drunk or distracted by text messages, and they don't have blind spots. Just look at commercial airlines: Automation has helped all but get rid of deadly crashes among American air carriers. The last one happened in 2009.

The technology for self-driving cars still isn't good enough. But it is improving rapidly. Within a few years, many cars will have advanced crash-avoidance systems and driving will be revolutionized sooner than many people now understand.

1.How does the author introduce the topic?

A.By offering a piece of news. B.By giving background information.

C.By describing an experience. D.By introducing a latest car.

2.What can be learnt about the participants of the experiments?

A.They tended to accept the computer's faults.

B.They seemed to care little about their own mistakes.

C.They felt less confident after making mistakes.

D.They performed better than computer systems.

3.The author mentioned commercial airlines___________.

A.to prove the advantage of technology B.to assess the security of driverless cars

C.to find fault with computers D.to advertise for the commercial airlines

4.What does the author expect of the self-driving car?

A.I'll avoid deadly crashes entirely. B.It'll occupy the market in a short time.

C.It'll be bettered in every possible way. D.It'll be popularized sooner than expected.

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On my fourth day in a self-driving car, I finally felt comfortable enough to let it stop itself. Before then, Id allowed the car- a Volvo S90 sedan to control the direction, with my hands still on the wheel, and to adjust speed in traffic. By Day 4, I was ready to make a jump into the future.

With the car traveling on a busy road, I activated the driverless mode. Soon, a traffic light turned red. For a split second, I prepared to get on the brakes. There was no need. The cameras and computers in the Volvo recognized the traffic conditions and smoothly began applying the brake.

If you're anything like most people, you're familiar with this anxiety. Almost 80 percent of Americans fear traveling in a self-driving car, a recent survey found.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have conducted some clever experiments studying the phenomenon. They asked participants to complete tasks and compared their performance with a computer system's. After the computer made a mistake, people were unwilling to use it again. After the people made mistakes, their self-confidence wouldn't change. It didn't matter that the human beings made more mistakes than the computer. So it is with driving. More than 37,000 Americans died in crashes last year, most from human error. The death count from cars goes beyond that from guns. So if you are shocked and angry by guns and want things to change, you should feel the same about car crashes.

Technology creates an opportunity to save lives. Computers don't get drunk or distracted by text messages, and they don't have blind spots. Just look at commercial airlines: Automation has helped all but get rid of deadly crashes among American air carriers. The last one happened in 2009.

The technology for self-driving cars still isn't good enough. But it is improving rapidly. Within a few years, many cars will have advanced crash-avoidance systems and driving will be revolutionized sooner than many people now understand.

1.How does the author introduce the topic?

A.By offering a piece of news. B.By describing an experience.

C.By giving background information. D.By introducing a latest car.

2.What can we know from the fourth paragraph?

A.The participants lost self-confidence after making mistakes.

B.The participants would ignore the mistakes made by the computer.

C.Car crashes is no less shocking than gun incidents.

D.The death count from cars is the same as that from guns.

3.The author mentioned commercial airlines___________.

A.to advertise for the commercial airlines. B.to assess the security of driverless cars.

C.to find fault with computers. D.to prove the advantage of technology.

4.What's the author's attitude towards self-driving cars?

A.Favorable. B.Indifferent.

C.Skeptical. D.Concerned.

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Four out of the 48 self-driving cars on public roads in California have been involved in accidents in the last eight months, according to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

The agency began issuing permits for the testing of self-driving vehicles in September 2014.

Three of the four cars belonged to Google, the fourth to parts supplier Delphi.

Both firms denied their vehicles had been at fault.

Under Californian law, details of car accidents remain secret.

However, Google said its driverless cars had never been the cause of an accident and that the majority of "minor fender-benders(擦撞)" had been in the form of rear-end(后尾) collisions from other drivers.

"Safety is our highest priority. Since the start of our programme six years ago, we've driven nearly a million miles automatically, on both freeways and city streets, without causing a single accident," said a spokesperson.

Delphi told the BBC its vehicle was hit while still at a crossroads and was in human driving mode at the time.

"A police report indicates the fault of the accident is with the second vehicle, not Delphi. No-one was hurt in the incident," said a spokesperson.

An unknown source told the Associated Press that two of the accidents occurred while the vehicles were occupied by human drivers, and all four vehicles were going very slowly at the time of the collisions.

Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car programme, wrote in a blog post that there have been 11 accidents involving Google cars since the project began six years ago but not one has been caused by one of its vehicles.

"Rear-end crashes are the most frequent accidents in America, and often there's little the driver in front can do to avoid getting hit," he said.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Self-driving car accidents.　　 B. Motor vehicle problems.

C. Self-driving vehicle problems.　　 D. Traffic accidents in California.

2.We can learn from the passage that the self-driving cars ______.

A. caused the accidents when driven by human drivers

B. hit other cars and caused the accidents

C. were responsible for the accidents

D. were knocked into from behind

3.The passage intends to tell us that the self-driving cars ______.

A. are just road killers　　 B. need to be improved

C. are in good quality　　 D. shouldn’t be produced

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“An Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona，U．S．，”police said on Monday，marking the first death caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation．

The ride services company said it was delaying North American tests of its self-driving vehicles，which are currently going on in Arizona，Pittsburgh and Toronto．

So-called robot cars，when fully developed by companies including Uber，are expected to thoroughly cut down on motor vehicle deaths and create billion-dollar businesses．But Monday’s accident highlighted (凸显)the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars face real-world situations involving real people．

“This catastrophic accident highlights why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and applying autonomous vehicle technologies to public roads，”said Edward Markey，　 a member of the transportation committee，in a statement．

“Elaine Herzberg，49，was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe at about 10 p．m．　 MST Sunday when she was struck by the Uber vehicle traveling at about 65 kilometers per hour，”police said．The car was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel．U．S．　 federal safety officials were sending teams to investigate the crash．Canada’s transportation ministry in Ontario，where Uber conducts testing，also said it was reviewing the accident．

“Uber and Waymo on Friday urged Congress to pass a law to speed the introduction of self-driving cars into the united states．However，some congressional(国会的)representatives have blocked the legislation over safety concerns，and Monday’s death could hamper passage of the bill，”congressional assistants said Monday．

1.According to the passage，which is the effect of the accident of the woman’s being killed?

A. People will be cautious while crossing a road．

B. The woman’s family will obtain a billion dollars．

C. The process of transforming transportation will be affected．

D. Self-driving vehicles will cut down on motor vehicles deaths．

2.The underlined word“hamper”in Paragraph 6 most probably mean_________．

A. make　　 B. prevent

C. start　　 D. accelerate

3.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To arouse the public concerns over a self-driving safety．

B. To remind car producers to be more careful when testing vehicles technology．

C. To advise the Congress to pass a law to speed self-driving cars test in the U．S．

D. To urge the U．S．federal safety regulators to take measures to look into the accident．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

I finally got the job I dreamed about.Never in all my life _____ so happy.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mrs. Amatuli was my teacher in the fourth grade. One day at lunch time,I was getting ready to eat my same old tuna fish(金枪鱼)sandwich and suddenly Mrs. Amatuli asked me if she could buy my sandwich from me. She explained that I could use the money to buy a hot lunch from the cafeteria.

I was thrilled. I never bought my lunch at the cafeteria. It was too expensive for my family,and I always carried my lunch and brought the bag back home to use again the next day. My sandwiches were either bologna(大香肠)or tuna fish. It rarely varied beyond that.

You can understand my delight when I had the opportunity to buy a hot lunch.

When we finished lunch that day. Mrs. Amatuli took me aside and said she wanted to explain why she had bought my sandwich. I really didn’t care why, but it gave me a few minutes of her precious attention so I was very quiet as she explained. You see，she was Catholic and she told me that Catholics didn’t eat red meat on Fridays—they ate fish on Fridays.

Oh,I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my mama that from now on 1 wanted tuna fish on Fridays. After my mama understood why，she gladly fixed tuna fish for me on Fridays. She even fixed it on brown bread because she knew Mrs. Amatuli liked brown bread. From then on. every Friday I could get in line with the rest of the kids for a hot lunch. I didn’t care how many of the kids complained about cafeteria food—it tasted divine to me!

I realize now that Mrs. Amatuli could have fixed herself a tuna sandwich of Friday. But she bought my sandwich because she saw a 1ittle girl who was thrilled over the simple act of having a hot lunch.

I will never forget her for her compassion and generosity and what I should do is to follow her example.

1.Mrs.Arnatuli bought the writer’s sand wish because_____________.

A．she was tired of cafeteria food

B．she hated getting in line with kids

C．she didn’t eat red meat on Friday

D．she wanted to show care to the writer

2.What can we learn about the cafeteria food?

A．It was terrific.                          B．It was terrible.

C．The writer enjoyed it.                    D．Most kids were fond of it.

3.The underlined word "divine" in Paragraph 5 means___________.

A．perfect           B．sweet            C．unpleasant        D．special

4.Which of the following can best show the theme of this text?

A．It is hard to please all.

B．Better to give than to receive.

C．Love makes the world go around.

D．The more you offer,the more you are rewarded.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mrs Amatuli was my teacher in the fourth grade. One day at lunch time, Mrs Amatuli asked me if she could36my sandwiches. She explained that I could use the money to buy a 37lunch from the cafeteria（自助餐厅）. I was 38. I never bought my lunch at the cafeteria. It was39expensive for my family, and I always carried my lunch and brought the bag back home to40again the next day.

You can understand my 41  when I had the opportunity to buy a hot lunch. Kids always  42about the cafeteria food but I was very43of them.

When we44lunch that day, Mrs Amatuli took me aside and said she wanted to 45 why she had bought my sandwiches. I really didn't care why, 46it gave me a few minutes of her precious47 so I was very quiet as she explained.

You48, she was a Catholic(天主教徒) and she told me that Catholics didn’t eat red meat on Fridays—they ate49on Fridays.

Oh, I couldn't 50to get home and tell my Mom that from then on I wanted fish on Fridays.51my Mom understood why, she gladly fixed fish for me on Fridays. From then on, every Friday I could get in52with the rest of the kids for a hot lunch. I didn’t care how many of the kids complained about the cafeteria food—it53great to me!

I realize now that Mrs Amatuli 54 have fixed herself a fish sandwich on Fridays. She bought my sandwiches because she saw a little girl who was pleased over the simple

55of having a hot lunch.

高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

As self-driving cars come closer to being common on American roads, much of the rhetoric（说辞）promoting them has to do with safety. About 40,000 people die on U.S. roads every year, and driver errors are linked to more than 90 percent of crashes. But many of the biggest advocates of autonomous（自动的）vehicles aren’t car companies looking to improve the safety of their existing products. Huge support for itself-driving technologies is coming from Silicon Valley giants like Google and Apple.

Those of us who have studied the relationship between technology and society tend to look more carefully at the motivations behind any technologically push. In this case, it’s clear that in addition to addressing safety concerns, Silicon Valley firms have a strong incentive（动机）to create a new venue for increasing the use of their digital devices. Every minute people spend on their mobile phones provides data—and often money—to tech companies.

At present, digital devices and driving are in conflict: There are serious, often fatal, consequences when drivers use smartphones to talk or to text. Regulators and safety advocates look to resolve dial conflict by banning phone use while driving – as has happened in almost every state. But the tech companies are taking a different approach. The obvious answer for Silicon Valley is creating an automobile in which continuous cellphone use no longer poses a threat to anyone.

In recent years, the amount of time adults spend on their mobile devices has grown rapidly. At the moment, it’s around four hours a day for the average adult in the U.S. However, that rapid growth is likely to slow down as people run out of time that’s available for them up to use their devices. Unless, of course, there’s a new block of time that suddenly opens up. The average American now spends about 48 minutes in a car every day, a sizeable opportunity for increased cellphone use.

Sop as the public conversation around autonomous cars highlights the safety advantages, don’t forget the tech industry’s powerful desire for more profits, which goes well beyond simply saving us from ourselves.

1.Who are responsible for most traffic accidents in American?

A. Car companies.　　 B. Drivers.

C. Tech companies.　　 D. Self-driving cars.

2.What pushes Silicon Valley to promote self-driving technologies?

A. To make more money.　　 B. To reduce traffic accidents.

C. To limit the use of digital devices.　　 D. To support car companies.

3.What does the underlined phrase “a new block of time” possibly refer to?

A. The working time.　　 B. People’s spare time.

C. The time spent in the car.　　 D. The time spent on mobile devices.

4.What can we know from the passage?

A. We should teach people to strictly obey traffic rules.

B. The writer calls on us to look at autonomous cars wisely.

C. Car companies are the leading promoters of self-driving cars.

D. No solution to the conflict between mobile phone use and driving has been found yet.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Even as Google plans to test its fleet(车队) of self-driving cars on public roads this summer, its business model remains a bit of a mystery. By 2025, as many as 250,000 self-driving vehicles could be sold each year globally, according to a study by an industry research firm.

"Vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button could transform mobility for millions of people," said Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project. For now, Google has no plans to sell any of its self-driving cars. They are strictly for research. But they will hit public roads this summer near Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Previous testing has taken place only on closed courses.

The cars are built to operate without a steering wheel, accelerator(油门) or brake pedal. "Our software and sensors do all the work," Urmson said. "The vehicles will be very basic—we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible—but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button." The prototypes(雏形) are the first of a 100-car fleet the tech giant is building.

In the long run, Urmson sees a future of safer roads — the majority of auto accidents are caused by human error — and fewer traffic jams. Robotic cars could also shuttle people who can't drive because of age or illness.

Google has said that self-driving cars could launch new business models in which people buy the use of vehicles they don't own. The company has already tested other types of self-driving cars on public streets, including modified Lexus sport-utility vehicles, under a special permit program by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that requires a human driver at the controls.

The state has issued six other companies permits to operate such cars, including Delphi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Tesla, Bosch and Nissan. The vehicles that will be tested on open roads this summer will have removable steering wheels, accelerator and brake pedals to allow "safety drivers" to take control if needed.

Google says the cars are safe. The vehicles have sensors that "can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections," Urmson said. "We're looking forward to learning how the community understands and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle," Urmson said.

1.The passage informs us that self-driving cars ________.

A. will probably decrease traffic jams

B. have already passed necessary tests

C. have been purchased by some companies

D. will be able to communicate with drivers

2.According to Chris Urmson, ________.

A. software and sensors are vital for self-driving cars

B. self-driving cars can give driving orders to humans

C. self-driving cars are specially designed for the elderly

D. ordinary vehicles will be replaced by self-driving cars

3.The underlined word "intersections" in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A. accidents　　 B. buildings

C. crossings　　 D. vehicles

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Self-driving Car Avoids Human Errors

B. Self-driving Car Meets New Challenges

C. Google's Self-driving Car Enjoys Global Popularity

D. Google's Self-driving Car Graduates to City Streets

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Even as Google plans to test its fleet (车队) of self-driving cars on public roads this summer, its business model remains a bit of a mystery. By 2025, as many as 250,000 self-driving vehicles could be sold each year globally, according to a study by an industry research firm.

"Vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button could transform mobility for millions of people," said Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project. For now, Google has no plans to sell any of its self-driving cars. They are strictly for research. But they will hit public roads this summer near Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Previous testing has taken place only on closed courses.

The cars are built to operate without a steering wheel, accelerator (油门) or brake pedal. "Our software and sensors do all the work," Urmson said. "The vehicles will be very basic — we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible — but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button." The prototype (雏形) are the first of a 100-car fleet the tech giant is building.

In the long run, Urmson sees a future of safer roads — the majority of auto accidents are caused by human error — and fewer traffic jams. Robotic cars could also shuttle people who can't drive because of age or illness.

Google has said that self-driving cars could launch new business models in which people buy the use of vehicles they don't own. The company has already tested other types of self-driving cars on public streets, including modified Lexus sport-utility vehicles, under a special permit program by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that requires a human driver at the controls.

The state has issued six other companies permits to operate such cars, including Delphi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Tesla, Bosch and Nissan. The vehicles that will be tested on open roads this summer will have removable steering wheels, accelerators and brake pedals to allow "safety drivers" to take control if needed.

Google says the cars are safe. The vehicles have sensors that "can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections," Urmson said. "We're looking forward to learning how the community understands and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle," Urmson said.

1. According to Chris Urmson, __________.

A. self-driving cars can give driving orders to humans

B. software and sensors are vital for self-driving cars

C. self-driving cars are specially designed for the elderly

D. ordinary vehicles will be replaced by self-driving cars

2.The passage informs us that self-driving cars __________.

A. have already passed necessary tests

B. have been purchased by some companies

C. will be able to communicate with drivers

D. will probably decrease traffic jams

3.The underlined word "intersections" in the last paragraph can probably be replaced __________.

A. crossings　　 B. buildings

C. vehicles 　　　 D. accidents

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Google's Self-driving Car Graduates to City Streets

B. Google's Self-driving Car Enjoys Global Popularity

C. Self-driving Car Meets New Challenges

D. Self-driving Car Avoids Human Errors

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析