Artificial intelligence products are not new....

Artificial intelligence products are not new. However, researchers have been working to improve the technology. Now virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, can have short conversations with us. AlphaGo taught itself to play Go and became better than the top human players.

Now an AI system has been tasked with passing a multiple-choice exam. The goal is to improve machines’ language understanding and logic with so-called computer vision.

A system named Aristo was developed by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a lab in the United States city of Seattle. It recently passed an eighth-grade science exam taken by many US students, The New York Times reported. It correctly answered more than 90 percent of the questions. Then it was given a twelfth-grade exam. It scored more than 80 percent.

It’s an example of the progress in AI development. Four years ago, 700 computer scientists tried to develop AI systems that could pass these kinds of exams. None scored higher than 60 percent.

Aristo was able to pass the exams because it can not only understand language but also use logical thinking to solve difficult problems. For example, it can understand what a forest fire is and how it could endanger animals like squirrels or decrease the food supply they need.

The system used BERT, a kind of neural （神经的）network technology developed by Google, to answer the questions. BERT has “read” thousands of English articles If it looks at a sentence with a missing word, it can correctly guess what the word is With BERT’s help, Aristo “read” many multiple-choice questions and answers. Over time, it was able to find logical patterns on its own.

It may still be in the earliest stages, said Jingjing Liu, a Microsoft researcher who has been working on similar technologies “We can’t compare this technology to real human students and their ability to reason.”

However, Aristo’s success means that AI systems are getting better at understanding users, and we might see improved search engines and hospital databases （数据库）in the near future.

1.Why did scientists develop Aristo?

A.To make better multiple-choice exams.

B.To improve AI’s ability to teach itself.

C.To shorten the time AI needs to “read” information.

D.To improve the language understanding and logic of AI.

2.What can we know about Aristo from its exam results?

A.It was smarter than most US students.

B.It could only deal with science questions.

C.It was best at understanding English.

D.It did better than other AI systems in similar tasks.

3.What does the sixth paragraph talk about?

A.How Aristo teaches itself. B.How Aristo reads English articles.

C.How Google developed BERT. D.How Google designed Aristo.

4.What can we learn from Jingjing Liu’s words?

A.AI will soon replace humans in many tasks.

B.Aristo still cannot compare to human reasoning skills.

C.Humans can’t live without AI in the future.

D.Aristo performs better with a larger database.

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

Instant Expert: Artificial Intelligence

Like it or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is starting to influence your life. Machines that have learned how to perform a task-or a huge range of tasks-better than humans are proving to be an invaluable resource. Join our speakers on a journey through the fascinating world of AI and give your own intelligence and instant upgrade.

Speakers:

Michael Veale, Lecturer in digital rights and regulation at University College London

Nello Cristianini, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bristol

Lydia Nicholls, Researcher and writer

Helmut Hauser, Senior Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Bristol

Aleksandra Berditchevskaia, Nesta Senior Researcher at the Center for Collective Intelligence

Benefits of attending:

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Tickets:

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1.The attraction of the event lies in the fact that it_

A.Provides three hot meals

B.gifts one copy of Lydia Nicholls' book

C.gives magazine subscribers free services

D.arranges particular interaction with experts

2.How much should a farther pay if he buys tickets for himself and his 15-year-old daughter?

A.￡ 119 B.￡ 169

C.￡ 288 D.￡ 248

3.The purpose of the passage is to

A.try to persuade us to enjoy AI

B.tell us about the influence of Al

C.attract us to join in an event of AI

D.inform us of the information about AI

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed new artificial intelligence software to recognize the faces of chimpanzees in the wild. The new software will allow researchers to significantly cut back on time and resources spent analyzing video footage.

“For species like chimpanzees, which have complex social lives and live for many years, recording their behavior from short-term field research can only tell us so much.” says Dan Schofield, researcher and DPhil student at Oxford University’s Primate Models Lab. “By using the power of machine learning to unlock large video footage, it makes it feasible to measure behavior over the long term. Observing how the social lives of a group change over several generations become possible as well.”

The computer model was trained using over 10 million images from Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute (PRI) video footage of wild chimpanzees in West Africa. The new software is the first to recognize individuals in a wide range of poses, performing with high accuracy in difficult conditions such as low lighting, poor image quality and movement blur (模糊).

“Access to this large video footage has allowed us to use cutting edge deep neural networks to train models at a scale that was previously not possible.” says Arsha Nagrani, co-author of the study and DPhil student in University of Oxford. “Additionally, our method differs from previous primate face recognition software in that it can be applied to raw video footage with limited manual intervention (人工干预) or pre-processing, saving hours of time and resources.”

The technology has potential for many uses, such as monitoring species for protection. Although the current application focused on chimpanzees, the software provided could be applied to other species, and help drive the adoption of artificial intelligence systems to solve a range of problems in the wildlife sciences.

“All our software is available open-source for the research community.” says Nagrani. “We hope that this will help researchers across other parts of the world apply the same cutting-edge techniques to their unique animal data sets. As a computer vision researcher, it is extremely satisfying to see these methods applied to solve real, challenging biodiversity (生物多样性) problems.”

“With an increasing biodiversity crisis and many of the world’s ecosystems under threat, the ability to closely monitor different species and populations using systems will be important for protection efforts, as well as animal behavior research.” adds Schofield. “Interdisciplinary cooperation like this have huge potential to make an impact, by finding solutions for old problems, and asking biological questions which were previously not available on a large scale.”

1.What’s the function of the new artificial intelligence software?

A.Analyzing video footage in difficult conditions.

B.Recognizing the faces of chimpanzees in the wild.

C.Cutting edge deep neural networks to train models at a scale.

D.Saving hours of time and resources without manual intervention.

2.What does the underlined word “feasible” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A.possible B.important

C.natural D.official

3.From the passage, we know that the artificial intelligence software could ________.

A.recognize individuals but not clearly

B.save time and resources only

C.help to protect different species

D.hardly solve biodiversity problems

4.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A.To introduce a new software.

B.To explain a measure.

C.To assess a project.

D.To describe a procedure.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

As these new products are not selling well,the members of the board have decided to_______production.

A. cut up　　 B. cut down to

C. cut back on　　 D. cut off

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

As these new products are not selling well, the members of the board have decided to _________production.

A. cut down　　 B. cut down to

C. cut down on　　 D. cut off

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

We are not ready to go into production yet, for the new switch mechanism isn’t fully ______.

A．tried out　　　　　 B．tested out

C．worked out　　 D．turned out

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Driverless cars are the best-known example of how artificial intelligence is influencing daily life in China, according to a new report on social attitudes toward AI technology that was released at Fudan University on May 17.

Based on the responses of 625 questionnaires made by Fudan University’s National Center for Cultural Innovation Research and the communication and data science laboratory, the report states that nearly 90 percent of the respondents are familiar with driverless cars, with over 67, percent having access to both positive and negative information on cars. About 62 percent of the respondents said they were willing to ride in driverless cars. Meanwhile, around 47 percent were supportive of unmanned vehicle road tests in the country. However, more than 30 percent of the respondents expressed their concerns about the safety of driverless cars.

If personal injuries or property loss are suffered in the event of an accident, 80.5 percent of the respondents said that the designers of the AI products should bear legal responsibility while 55.5 percent said that vehicle users should also shoulder the blame.

Smart cars with partial or fully autonomous functions are expected to account for 50 percent of new vehicles sold in China by 2020.According to the blueprint released by the National Development and Reform Commission in January, the country is aiming to become a global power in smart-car development and production by 2035.

“One cannot ignore the risks and ethics issues brought up by artificial intelligence technology,” said Sun Shaojing, director of the Communication and Data Science Laboratory of the National Center for Cultural Innovation Research at Fudan University, “Policies should be strengthened to ensure a balanced development of ethics and science, especially for some fast-growing applications like driverless cars.”

1.What do we know about the responses of 625 questionnaires?

A. More than half of the people surveyed were willing to ride in driverless cars.

B. Nearly 90% knew both positive and negative information on cars.

C. Unmanned vehicle road tests were hardly supported in the country.

D. Few people were concerned about the safety of driverless cars.

2.Who should take responsibility if an accident happened to a driverless car?

A. The designers of the AI products.

B. Both AI products designers and vehicle users.

C. Policy makers who regulate the use of driverless cars.

D. It hasn’t been decided yet.

3.What does the underlined word “autonomous” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. high-tech　　 B. advanced

C. self-directed　　 D. useful

4.What do Sun Shaojing’s words suggest in the last paragraph?

A. We should mainly focus on the benefit that driverless cars bring to us.

B. Effective policies and rules are needed with appliances fast growing.

C. Risks and ethics issues brought up by AI cannot be avoided.

D. Driverless cars play a significant role in AI technology.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Advances in artificial intelligence and the use of big data are changing the way many large companies recruit (招募) entry level and junior management positions. These days, graduates’ CVs may well have to impress an algorithm (算法) rather than an (human resources) manager.

While algorithms supposedly treat each application equally, experts are divided about whether so-called robo-recruitment promises an end to human prejudice in the selection process —or whether it may in fact add to it.

“AI systems are not all equal,” says Loren Larsen, chief technology officer for HireVue, which has developed an automated video interview analysis system. “I think you have to look at the science team behind the work,” says Mr Larsen.

The problem, experts say, is that to find the best candidates an algorithm has first to be told what “good” looks like in any given organization. Even if it is not given criteria that seem discriminatory, a powerful machine-learning system will quickly be able to copy the characteristics of existing workers. If an organization has favoured white male graduates from well-known universities, the algorithm will learn to select more of the same.

The growing dependence on automation to judge suitability for everything from a loan to a job worries Yuriy Brun, an associate professor specializing in software engineering. “It takes a lot of the time for a company to put out software but it doesn’t know if it is discriminatory” he says. Prof Brun explains that, considering the use of big data, algorithms will unavoidably learn to discriminate.

Many of those working with robo-recruiters are more optimistic. Kate Glazebrook, the leader and co-founder of Applied, a hiring platform, says her task is to encourage hiring manager to move away from such indicators of quality as schools or universities and move to more evidence-based methods. When candidates complete tests online, Applied hides their names and shows the tests the candidates have completed, question by question, to human assessors. Every stage of the process has been designed to remove prejudice.

With the same aim, Unilever decided in 2016 to switch to a more automated process for its graduate-level entry programme. Unilever worked with HireVue, Amberjack, which provides and advises on automated recruitment processes, and Pymetrics, another high volume recruitment company, which developed a game-based test in which candidates are scored on their ability to take risks and learn from mistakes, as well as on emotional intelligence. Unilever says the process has increased the ethnic diversity of its listed candidates and has been more successful at selecting candidates who will eventually be hired.

“The things that we can do right now are impressive, but not as impressive as we’re going to be able to do next year or the year after,” says Mr Larsen.

Still, robo-recruiters must be regularly tested in case prejudice has occurred without anyone realizing it, says Frida Polli, the leader and co-founder of Pymetrics. “The majority of algorithmic tools are most likely causing prejudice to continue existing. The good ones should be examined.”

1.What’s the purpose of adopting automated recruitment processes according to the passage?

A. For the sake of fairness.

B. For the purpose of cutting down costs.

C. To relieve the pressure of staff.

D. To favor graduates from well-known universities.

2.The automated process Unilever adopted in 2016 for its graduate-level entry programme ________.

A. was found to have prejudice

B. was copied by many other companies

C. scored the candidates on their ethnic backgrounds

D. turned out to be less or not racially discriminatory

3.According to Mr Larsen, robo-recruitment ________.

A. is good enough for wide use now

B. is not suitable for practical use now

C. will do better and better in the near future

D. will completely replace HR staff within two years

4.Frida Polli stresses in the last paragraph that algorithmic tools ________.

A. need routine checks

B. will unavoidably have prejudice

C. are mostly good and effective

D. must be combined with human staff

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If the lady in the Mona Lisa painting could talk, she could tell us why she was smiling for the pose, isn’t it? But, of course, that is not possible because she is just a painting.

However, recently, Samsung Labs in Moscow demonstrated an Al program that could create a video of a person talking just from one single profile picture. The result? A talking Mona Lisa, thanks to a technology, known as deepfake!

The word “deepfake” is a combination of the words “deep learning” and “fake”. Deep learning refers to the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to create images of human faces. The word was used first in 2017 when an anonymous person using the name “deepfake” began to post images of celebrities’ faces on other people’s bodies.

To start with, video recordings of a person are broken down into the smallest levels of detail that capture how their mouth and facial features move when they pronounce a sound like “oo” or “ah”. These, along with the 3-D model of the lower face, are then put together and the person can be made to say words he (or she) never did.

Deepfakes use a technology called generative adversarial networks (GAN). This system uses two separate artificial intelligence systems that are trained such that one generates the images and the other attempts to tell if they are fake. The machines continue to teach each other over and over again until one produces a video that the other cannot tell it is fake!

Fake news would easily go out of hand if people believed the fake videos as real and it could have political and social effect. There is a lesson here for each of us to be careful about what we post on the Internet. In the future, you might see a picture or video of yourself and may not be able to tell that it is fake! It all just goes to show that seeing is not always believing.

1.How does the writer develop the third paragraph?

A.By defining a concept. B.By introducing an app.

C.By testing a scientific method. D.By providing different examples.

2.What can we infer about GAN from the passage?

A.It needs to be trained. B.It can learn all by itself.

C.It produces perfect pictures. D.It is used to identify fake images.

3.What is implied in the last paragraph?

A.People can use deepfakes to become famous.

B.The public aren’t easily cheated by deepfakes.

C.All of us may become a victim of deepfakes.

D.Deepfakes make what you have done known to all.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A.Mona Lisa：a Talking Picture

B.Fake Videos：Recording of a Person

C.AI Program：Creating a Video

D.Deepfakes：Believing or Not

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

Clean water is not only important for food production, but necessary for our life. However, large numbers of people in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are going without. The World Health Organization reports that almost 4,000 children die each day for dirty water or lack of water.

Agriculture is the primary user of water at 70–85% of fresh water in the world. Industrial uses of water don’t often come to mind, but you may be surprised to know that industry uses 59% of the water supply in developed countries.

Home use takes up only 8% in the world. But as cities grow, the local government has to cut down on water use. Many cities are turning to privatization (私有化) of water as a method of controlling use. The poor are paying as much as a quarter of their monthly income for water in some developing countries.

In 60% of large European cities, groundwater is being used at a faster rate. People are saving water by simply using less and being careful with what they do use. Sometimes it’s as simple as not throwing out water that they could use elsewhere.

In Australia overuse of water has always been a problem. The Australian government has encouraged households and industries to collect rainwater and reuse water from showers. Technology is helping householders for shower and bath water for reuse in toilets or gardens.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has made a water saving program designed to encourage families and businesses to examine their water use and save more water. Good water management has been considered by scientists and the UN as the key to solving the water problem. We can all work together to protect our valuable water in our daily life.

1.In developed countries, most water is used by ______.

A. industry　　 B. agriculture

C. families　　 D. businesses

2.To save water, what do Australians and Europeans both choose to do?

A. Find more groundwater.

B. Make good use of rainwater.

C. Encourage people to have fewer showers

D. Recycle water for a second use.

3.According to scientists, to deal with water shortage, the most important is to ______.

A. popularize privatization of water

B. cut down on water use at home

C. have good control over water use

D. introduce water-saving technologies

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Water—the source of all lives

B. Save water, save the world

C. New ways to save water

D. Water and people’s health

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析