Researchers at the University of Chicago have...

Researchers at the University of Chicago have trained an artificial intelligence (AI) system to write fake reviews on Yelp, a website showing customers’ reviews on shopping or something else, and it’s pretty hard to tell them apart from a human review.

Their study, which will be pressed at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communication Security in October, aimed to stress how easily these systems can write reviews like humans and how damaging they can become if they're not mentioned properly.

Since many small businesses rely on online reviews to help grow and support their reputation, a future where someone—like a competitor or angry customer—could crazily fill their page with bad reviews written by a machine is pretty worrying.

And, according to the research team, the threat goes far beyond a bunch of fake reviews on Yelp. “In general, the threat is bigger,” Ben Y. Zhao, one of the authors of the study, said. “I think the threat towards society is large and it really misleads users and shakes our belief in what is real and what is not. I think that's going to be even more unimaginable.”

To test how believable these reviews came across, the researchers invited 40 volunteers and had AI generate(生成) five fake reviews for 40 actual restaurants. The volunteers were asked how useful they thought the reviews were and whether or not they thought they were fake. The AI reviews ranked as “effectively indistinguishable” from real reviews, according to the study. Further the fake reviews were given a 3.15 “usefulness” rating, compared to a 3.28 rating for human reviews.

1.Why do researchers use AI system to write fake reviews on Yelp?

A. To press their study at the ACM Conference.

B. To replace humans reviews with AI reviews.

C. To make sure that they are not harmful to our life.

D. To make a research on AI systems review writing.

2.According to the text, what do we know about the AI reviews?

A. They can be found everywhere.

B. They are hardly helpful to our life.

C. They can be vital to small businesses.

D. They bring us a lot of convenience.

3.What does the last paragraph tell us?

A. AI reviews were effectively distinguishable.

B. AI system was really a help in review writing.

C. Restaurants should care for customers’ reviews.

D. AI reviews were almost as believable as humans'.

4.What’s the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A. To emphasize the importance of AI studying.

B. To predict what the world will be like tomorrow.

C. To warn people of the threat from AI’s fake remarks.

D. To tell the differences between AI reviews and humans'.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Researchers at the University of Chicago have trained an artificial intelligence( 人工智能) system, to write fake( 伪 造 的 ) reviews( 评 论 ) on Yelp, a website showing customers reviews on shopping or something else, and it's pretty hard to tell them apart from a human review.

Their study, which will be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in October, aimed to throw attention onto how easily these systems can write reviews like humans and how damaging they can become if they’re not monitored properly.

Since many small businesses depend on online reviews to help grow and keep their reputation, a future where someone—like a rival or angry customer—could crazily fill their page with negative reviews written by a machine is pretty worrying.

And, according to the research team, the threat goes far beyond fake reviews on Yelp. “In general the threat is bigger,” Ben Y. Zhao, one of the authors of the study, said. “I think the threat towards society is large and it really misleads users and shakes our belief in what is real and what is not. I think that' s going to be even unimaginable.”

To test how believable these reviews are, the researchers invited 40 volunteers and had AI make five fake reviews for 40 actual restaurants. The volunteers were asked how useful they thought the review was and whether or not they thought it was fake. The AI reviews was regarded as　 “effectively unrecognizable ” from real reviews，according to the study. Further, the fake reviews were given a 3.15 "usefulness" rating, compared to a 3.28 rating for human reviews.

1.What can the new artificial intelligence system do according to the passage？

A. It can help train new reviewers.

B. It can tell the real reviews from the fake ones.

C. It can write human-like reviews.

D. It can easily damage the businesses.

2.What does the underlined word "rival'' mean in the passage?

A. A person who respects you deeply.

B. A person who is against you.

C. A person who loves to give fake reviews.

D. A person who can control you from distance.

3.What can we infer from Ben Y. Zhao's remarks?

A. Artificial intelligence can put the society in danger.

B. The artificial intelligence is only used by the researchers

C. Ben Y. Zhao is optimistic about the further development of artificial intelligence.

D. The artificial intelligence will help people shake.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Tips on Giving Reviews.　　 B. How to Tell the Fake Reviews.

C. Development of AI in Review on Yelp.　　 D. AI is coming to Steal Your Reviews.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that too many kids are eating too much pizza and too many calories are doing harm to children’s health.

“There are a lot of takeaways from the study. But the biggest thing is that parents are serving their kids too much pizza,” said Dr.William Dietz, one of the study’s authors and the director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the Milken Institute of Public Health at the George Washington University.

The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which tracked the diets of more than 11,000 children and teenagers. Researchers figured how many children eat pizza in the United States, how often they eat it, and how much they eat when they do.

Pizza, pretty alarmingly, is the second leading source of calories in the diets of America’s children, next only to grain desserts, such as cookies and other sweets. On any given day, roughly 20 percent of all children aged 2 to 11 and adolescents aged 12 to 19 eat pizza. And when they do, they eat a lot of it. When children eat pizza, they eat roughly 400 calories, according to the study. For teenagers, it’s upwards of 600 calories.

All that is pretty problematic, according to Dietz largely because kids don’t tend to balance the pizza slices with salads, vegetables and other more nutritional(有营养的) foodstuffs. Days on which children and teenagers eat pizza are not only associated with considerably higher intakes of fat, but also, quite simply, with more food: on average, children consume 84 extra calories on the days they eat pizza, while adolescents consume an extra 230 calories.

“When you eat extra calories and don’t compensate(抵偿) for them at another point of the day or week, it can lead to weight gain and even obesity.”Dietz said.

There is a Silver lining. Pizza consumption is still too high by nutrition standards, but it’s lower than it used to be. Consumption(消费) fell by roughly 25 percent between 2007 and 2016, according to the study. Much of that has come at dinner where it's fallen by 40 percent for children and about 33 percent for teenagers. It’s unclear whether the decline has been in connection with a growing concern over obesity, especially among the country’s youth.

But the drop in pizza consumption, while significant hasn’t been big enough “It’s a positive trend,” Dietz said. “But we’re not quite them yet.”

It’s easy to see the appeal of pizza. It’s cheap. Parents can buy a lot of pizza for not a lot of money. Besides, they can buy pizza from a chain shop, a mom-and-pop store or a grocery freezer. And it’s universally loved. The estimated 3 billion pizza eaten each year in the United States is a proof of the food’s unmatched popularity. Given how much the country loves pizza, what’s to be done? Dietz suggests pizza with smaller serving sizes and healthier toppings(配料). “We’re not suggesting that kids avoid pizza altogether.” said Dietz. “But when parents serve it, it’s important that they understand it’s extremely caloric. They should serve smaller pizza, or at least smaller slices.”

1.According to the study, the problem with kids is that 　　　 .

A. they are overweight　　 B. they have too many takeaways

C. they are fed too much pizza　　 D. they have very bad health

2.How did the researchers get the result?

A. Through interviewing.　　 B. By analyzing data.

C. By tracking kids’ diets.　　 D. Through experimenting.

3.We know from the passage that when kids eat pizza, 　　　　 .

A. they usually don’t eat other food　　 B. they eat less of other food

C. they are not likely to balance their diet　　 D. they usually eat with vegetables

4.What does the underlined part a silver lining in Paragraph 7 probably mean?

A. Something hopeful　　 B. Something valuable.

C. Something miserable.　　 D. Something successful.

5.What’s the key message of the last paragraph?

A. Pizza consumption fell significantly in America.

B. Pizza has many advantages over other food.

C. Eating too much pizza can lead to failing health and obesity.

D. The pizza problem may be improved through its size and topping.

高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Researchers at the University of Bedforshire have developed a new technique for powering electronic device（装置）. The system, developed by Professor Ben Allen at the Centre for Wireless Research, uses radio（无线电） waves as power.

Believed to be a world first, the team claims it could eventually eliminate (or get rid of )the need for conventional batteries. The university has now filed a patent application to secure the only rights to the technique.

Professor Allen and his team have created a system to use medium wave frequencies to replace batteries in small everyday devices like clocks and remote controls.

The new technique uses the “waste” energy of radio waves and has been developed as part of the university’s research into “power harvesting”. Professor Allen said that as radio waves have energy―like light waves, sound waves or wind waves―then, in theory, these waves could be used to create power.

“The emerging（新兴的）area of power harvesting technology promises to reduce our reliance on conventional batteries,” he said. “It’s really exciting way of taking power from sources other than what we would normally think of.”

The team is now waiting for the results of the patent application to secure recognition of the technique. Professor Allen said that the team’s achievements had all been done in their “spare time”. “Our next stage is to try and raise some real funds so that we can take this work forward and make a working prototype（模型）and maybe partner up with the right people and take this to a full product in due course,” he said.

“Power harvesting has a really important part in our future, because, just in this country, we dispose of somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of batteries in landfill（垃圾填理）sites every single year－that is toxic chemicals going into the ground.”

He added that development of the product could also be “commercially beneficial”. “The market for this is several billion pounds. We’ve seen market predictions for 2020 which have these kinds of figures, so there’s a lot of commercial potential in this area,” he said.

Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Bedfordshire, Professor Carsten Maple, said, “This type of work is a reflection of the university’s growing reputation and experience in conducting innovative（创新的）research.”

1.From the text we know the new technique for powering electronic devices_____.

2.According to Professor Allen, power harvesting technology______.

3.What can we learn about Professor Allen and his team from the text?

4.What is Professor Carsten Maple’s attitude toward the new technique?

5.What is the text mainly about?

高一英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析

How to have fun in Chicago without spending a lot of money?

Sightseeing

★The Art Institute of Chicago has a fine collection of photos and paintings. The ticket is $10.00. But on Tuesdays you’ll get in free.

★The Sears Tower is the world’s third tallest building. By going to the 103rd floor, you can get a great view of the whole city! All for only $8.50.

Free show

★There are free concerts in Grant Park in summer. They are held from Wednesday to Saturday at 7:00 pm.

★Attend the taping of a TV show for free. The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Jenny Jones Show both offer tourists free tickets. For the Oprah Winfrey Show you’ll have to book tickets at least a month before.

Places to stay

★You can get a hotel for $100 to $300 a day. However, you can get a room in the dormitory

at Roosevelt University for $215 for a whole week! But you have to stay for 30 days to get this great rate(价格).

1.This passage tells us _________.

A．Chicago is a big and beautiful city

B．where we can see fine photos and paintings

C．how to make a cheap trip in Chicago

D．there are many free concerts in Chicago

2.It will cost you ________ if you visit the Art Institute instead of the Sears Tower on Sundays.

A．more             B．less              C．a little            D．nothing

3.You may go to _________ if you like to get a great view of the whole city.

A．the Art Institute                        B．the Sears Tower

C．Roosevelt University                     D．Grant Park

4.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．It is free to go to the Art Institute on Tuesdays.

B．Free Grant Park concerts are held four nights a week in summer.

C．The Sears Tower is the world’s third tallest building.

D．You can get tickets to the Oprah Winfrey Show as soon as you arrive.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new material that can move heat out of buildings and into space. The researchers say the material can cool buildings even on hot days. The cooling material is a very thin sheet with many layers that could be placed on a roof like solar panels(板). However, instead of turning sunlight into energy as solar panels do, the material turns heat into radiation.

Shanhui Fan is an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University. He says that the panels have a layer of material that is like sand. The panels act like a mirror. They take heat out of buildings and reflect the light from the sun. And he says both the heat and sunlight are sent 100 kilometers into outer space. "It's a structure(构造) that cools itself without electricity input, even under the sun. So, what it does is basically radiate heat to outer space and also reflect the sunlight so it doesn't get heated up by the sun. Mr. Fan says it is like having a window into space. The heat is sent directly into space without warming the air.”

He says buildings in developing countries that do not have electricity or air conditioning could use the panels. "In areas where electricity is out of reach for many people, there is a potential (潜在的) benefit for storing medicine or even food. In many of these situations, being able to reduce the temperature is important. And this would provide a way to do it.”

The researchers say the main problem is creating actual cooling systems using the high-tech panels. They say it may be possible to develop a cooling spray(喷涂) that could be used on present solid structures. They believe the cooling spray technology could be developed in the next three to five years. They say as much as 15 percent of the energy used in the United States is spent providing power to air conditioning systems.

1.The first paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A. living on hot days is no longer a big problem now

B. a new material is created to cool the buildings

C. researchers are developing new solar panels on roofs

D. the new material is a very thin sheet with many layers

2.How does the panel work?

A. It takes in the heat and cools it down.

B. It uses a mirror to reflect the sunlight.

C. It sends heat away right into space.

D. It has a window to let out the heat.

3.The new material is especially useful in areas that ________.

A. suffer high temperature

B. have poor air conditioning

C. have plenty of food

D. are short of power

4.What can you infer from the passage?

A. The appliance of the new panel is still under research.

B. Some people got benefits from producing the panels.

C. People may have problems in using the new material.

D. The new panels may save 15 percent of the energy.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A special laboratory at the University of Chicago is busy only at night. It is a dream laboratory where researchers are at work studying dreamers. Their findings have discovered that everyone dreams from three to seven times a night, although in ordinary life a person may remember none or only one of his dreams.

　While the subjects—usually students—sleep, special machines record their brain waves and eye movements as well as the body movements that signal the end of a dream. Surprisingly, all subjects sleep soundly.

Observers report that a person usually fidgets(烦躁不安) before a dream. Once the dream has started, his body relaxes and his eyes become more active, as if the curtain had gone up on a show. As soon as the machine shows that the dream is over, a buzzer wakens the sleeper. He sits up, records his dream, and goes back to sleep—perhaps to dream some more.

Researchers have found that if the dreamer is wakened immediately after his dream, he can usually recall the entire dream. If he is allowed to sleep even five more minutes, his memory of the dream will have disappeared.

1.According to the passage, researchers at the University of Chicago are studying ____.

A．contents of dreams　                    B．dreamers while they dream

C．the meaning of dreams                   D．the progress of sleeping

2.Their finding has discovered that _____.

A．everyone dreams every night

B．dreams are easily remembered

C．dreams are likely to be frightening

D．One person dreams only one dream a night

3.The machines being used in the experiment record _____.

A．the depth of sleep

B．the subjects’ brain waves and eye movements

C．how many dreams a person has

D．what a sleeper dreams during his sleep

4.A person would be most likely to remember the dream that _____.

A．was of most interest to him

B．occurred immediately after he went to sleep

C．occurred just before he woke up

D．was the longest one to him

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Researchers at the University of Kansas say that it's easy for people to judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes． "Shoes contain useful information about their wearers．" the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．

Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style， cost， color and condition of someone's shoes． In the study， 63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants． Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes， and then filled out a personality questionnaire．

Some of the results were expected： People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes， and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing people． However， some other results are strange enough． For example， "practical and functional" shoes were generally worn by more "pleasant" people， while ankle boots were more connected with "aggressive" personalities． The strangest of all may be that those who wore "uncomfortable looking" shoes tend to have "calm" personalities． And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take very good care of them， you may suffer from "attachment anxiety"， which means you are likely to spend lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance． There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal （主张变革的） types wearing "shabbier and less expensive" shoes．

The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities， but researchers noted that volunteers didn't fully realize that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities．

1.What does this text mainly tell us？

A. Shoes can hide people's real personalities．

B. Shoes contain false information about the wearer．

C. People's personalities can be judged by their shoes．

D. People know little about others' personalities．

2.Which of the results is beyond people's expectation？

A. Wealthy people often wear expensive shoes．

B. Pleasant people are likely to wear ankle boots．

C. Flashier shoes are typically worn by outgoing people．

D. Calm people like wearing uncomfortable shoes．

3.People suffering from "attachment anxiety" tend to　　　 　．

A. wear strange shoes

B. worry about their appearance

C. have a calm character

D. become a political leader

4.The author wrote the text in order to　　　 　．

A. inform us of a new study

B. introduce a research method

C. teach how to choose shoes

D. describe different personalities

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you are interested in studying at an American university, you have to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. The test is widely known as the TOEFL. It is the most widely used language exam for American universities.

There are two major kinds of the TOEFL test. The first is the IBT, or Internet-based Test. It is offered in most of the world and accepted by nearly every university and scholarship program in the United States.The other kind of the test is called the Paper-based Test or PBT. The PBT is less costly to take and does not require use of the Internet.

But how to get started with TOEFL? Here are some tips.

1. Plan ahead ---It takes a long time to improve your TOEFL score. Do not expect a big lift in your test results after two weeks. You will have to spend a lot of time and energy.

2. Master the basics first ---You should have to be good at basic English before you take the test. If you score below 500 on the PBT or 70 on the IBT, study for a few months and come back to the TOEFL later.

3. Get a study guide --- It is easy to find study guides for the IBT. Pearson, Barron's, ETS, and Kaplan all produce quality materials. Take a practice test once or twice a month. The best study guides will have explanations in the answer key.

4. Use outside resources ---　 Remember, you are learning a language, not a test. You can improve your TOEFL score by making English part of your daily life. Some simple ways are listening to English speakers, watching movies and reading newspapers. Some others are reading English textbooks, sending and reading text messages in English, and writing online in English.

The best way to do well on the TOEFL is to know English well.The real goal of the test is to measure how well a student can communicate in English-speaking classroom.

If you want to know more, please click here.

1.If you want to study in an America university, you have to_________.

A. be very rich and work hard

B. be well prepared to take the TOEFL test

C. ask an English teacher to help you

D. prepare for a month before taking the TOEFL test

2.From the passage we can learn that___________.

A. the IBT is more expensive to take and requires use of the Internet.

B. Pearson is a person who teaches quality materials.

C. If you score 500 on the PBT,you can pass the TOEFL test.

D. If you are good at reading ,you can pass the TOEFL test.

3.The real purpose of the TOEFL is to　　　　　 , according to the passage.

A. get more foreign students to study in American universities

B. let foreign students know more about American universities

C. measure one’s communicating ability in English.

D. improve foreign students’ skills of taking tests

4.Where does the passage most probably come from?

A. A website　　 　　　　 B. A lesson

C. A science book　　　　 D. A novel

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

B

If you are interested in studying at an American university, you have to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. The test is widely known as the TOEFL. It is the most widely used language exam for American universities.

There are two major kinds of the TOEFL test. The first is the IBT，or Internet based Test. It is offered in most of the world and accepted by nearly every university and scholarship program in the United States. The other kind of the test is called the Paper­based Test or PBT. The PBT is less costly to take and does not require use of the Internet.

But how to get started with TOEFL? Here are some tips.

1. Plan ahead — It takes a long time to improve your TOEFL score. Do not expect a big lift in your test results after two weeks. You will have to spend a lot of time and energy.

2. Master the basics first — You should have to be good at basic English before you take the test. If you score below 500 on the PBT or 70 on the IBT, study for a few months and come back to the TOEFL later.

3. Get a study guide — It is easy to find study guides for the IBT. Pearson, Barron’s, ETS, and Kaplan all produce quality materials, take a practice test once or twice a month. The best study guides will have explanations in the answer key.

4. Use outside resources — Remember, you are learning a language, not a test. You can improve your TOEFL score by making English part of your daily life. Some simple ways are listening to English speakers, watching movies and reading newspapers. Some others are reading English textbooks, sending and reading text messages in English, and writing online in English.

The best way to do well on the TOEFL is to know English well. The real goal of the test is to measure how well a student can communicate in English­speaking classroom.

If you want to know more, please click here.

1. If you want to study in an America university, you have to ____________.

A. be very rich and work hard

B. be well prepared to take the TOEFL test

C. ask an English teacher to help you

D. prepare for a month before taking the TOEFL test

2.From the passage we can learn that ____________.

A. the IBT is more expensive to take and requires use of the Internet

B. Pearson is a person who teaches quality materials

C. if you score 500 on the PBT, you can pass the TOEFL test

D. if you are good at reading, you can pass the TOEFL test

3. The real purpose of the TOEFL is to ______________, according to the passage.

A. get more foreign students to study in American universities

B. let foreign students know more about American universities

C. measure one's communicating ability in English

D. improve foreign students' skills of taking tests

4.Where does the passage most probably come from?

A. A website. B. A lesson.

C. A science book. D. A novel.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析