Google announced new features to make devices...

Google announced new features to make devices smarter and more useful to open its yearly developers' conference. The announcements came at Google's I/O 2018 conference in Mountain View, California.

Google Duplex

"So what you're going to hear is the Google Assistant actually calling a real barber’s to schedule the appointment for you.

Hello, how can I help you?

Hi, I'm calling to book a woman's haircut for a client. I'm looking for something on May 3rd.

Sure, give me one second.

Mm-hmmm.

That was a real call you just heard."

Google Chief Pichai said the demonstration was the result of the company's research and development over many years in the areas of natural language, deep learning and text-to-speech. Google calls the technology Duplex. The idea is to create machines that sound and act more human-like in interactions with people.

Continued Conversation

Another new feature related to Assistant is called Continued Conversation. Until now, users have had to say "Hey Google" each time they asked a question or wanted help. But now, a user can issue more than one command – such as a follow-up question – for up to eight seconds, and Assistant will answer.

Gmail Smart Compose

The latest new tool for Gmail is an auto-complete feature called Smart Compose. It uses AI to suggest ways to finish sentences as they are written. For example, "I haven't seen you" might be auto-completed to "I haven't seen you in a while and I hope you're doing well."

Digital Wellbeing

Google says it recognizes many users are trying to find the right balance in life with technology. Sometimes they would like to break away from their devices to be able to spend time "on better things." New features with this in mind can help users prevent overuse of technology.

A Dashboard will provide users detailed information about how much time they are spending on which parts of their device. When the device is placed face down, a new feature will put the device on hold and silence it so the user can center on other things. A Wind Down Mode feature can let users enter the time they want to go to bed. At that time, the device will again go silent and the front of the device will dim to help users disconnect before bed.

1.What does the small dialogue mean in Google Duplex?

A. Google Chief Pichai calls his assistant to arrange an appointment for him.

B. Google’s digital assistant sets a haircut appointment for someone all by itself.

C. An assistant in Google sets a haircut appointment for a woman.

D. That wasn’t a real call the receiver had heard.

2.What can we learn about Digital Wellbeing?

A. It can find the right balance in work.

B. It may automatically go silent while the screen is still bright.

C. It can tell how much time is being spent on parts of the device.

D. When one feature is operating long enough, a new one will disappear.

3.If you are poor in writing compositions, you probably like________.

A. Continued Conversation　　 B. Google Maps - Augmented Reality

C. Google Duplex　　 D. Gmail Smart Compose

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Google Inc. introduced plans in June to offer 3-D maps of major cities and other new features for its popular Google Maps and Google Earth services.

New features include the ability to _____50_____ portions of Google Maps onto phones and other _____51_____ devices, with detailed data, so users can find their way around _____52_____ areas even if they don’t have an active Internet connection.

Perhaps the most _____53_____ new feature was the detailed three-dimensional images that Google plans to offer for major cities in coming months.

Google product manager Peter Birch explained that the company is using _____54_____ to obtain detailed images of every street and building in an area, from different _____55_____, which are then compiled into images that appear to show height, depth and even architectural details of buildings and streets, _____56_____ landscape features such as trees.

“We are trying to create the effect that you are flying _____57_____ the city, almost as if you were in your own personal helicopter,” said Birch.

Compiling those images _____58_____ extensive photographing and processing of images, however. _____59_____ Birch promised to have images _____60_____ for several major cities in coming months, he and other Google officials did not offer a detailed timetable.

Industry blogs have reported that Apple is preparing to _____61_____ its own maps and navigation service, including 3-D images. Analysts say the _____62_____ is part of a larger race between the two tech giants to offer services that keep users _____63_____ and allow each company to deliver advertising or other products targeted to specific locations and other data on ____64______ interests.

1.                A．buy            B．download       C．use  D．apply

2.                A．expensive       B．useful          C．portable  D．cheap

3.                A．familiar         B．unfamiliar       C．quiet D．busy

4.                A．interesting      B．impressive      C．ridiculous D．surprising

5.                A．computers      B．cameras        C．phones   D．planes

6.                A．angles          B．parts           C．sides D．areas

7.                A．except         B．except for       C．including  D．as well as

8.                A．over           B．below          C．through  D．in

9.                A．spends         B．costs           C．obtains   D．requires

10.               A．When          B．As             C．While D．As long as

11.               A．sold           B．available        C．accessible D．vivid

12.               A．introduce       B．make          C．draw D．sell

13.               A．image          B．competition     C．service    D．map

14.               A．busy           B．convenient      C．attractive  D．engaged

15.               A．children’s     B．users’        C．managers’    D．students’

高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

New Mexico has announced a plan to make public colleges and universities free for all people in the state, a Proposal considered one of the most ambitious attempts in education these years.

The plan, if approved, would allow students, regardless of household income, to attend any of the 29 states public colleges and universities. State officials estimate that the program, officially called the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, will help 55,000 students each year attend college.

Calling the plan “the moonshot for higher education,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle LujanGrisham announced it on Wednesday at the New Mexico Higher Education Summit in Albuquerque. “It means better enrollment (注册). It means better students' success. In the long run, it means economic growth, improved outcomes for New Mexico workers and thinkers and parents,” Lujan Grisham said, “It means a better trained workforce.”

Twenty other states have set up tuition free education programs for two-year community colleges. And New York created a scholarship program to allow students to go to public colleges and universities without paying tuition. But there are household income requirements and other rules, including that receivers live and work in New York for several years after graduating. The New Mexico proposal has no such restrictions. And some experts wonder if the lack of program regulations is one of its disadvantages.

Wil Del Pilar, the vice president for higher education at The Education Trust, said there is a risk that wealthier students will benefit the most in the program, since there are no income requirements. “When you have limited state dollars, I would argue that we should target those dollars toward those who struggle the most to pay,” Del Pilar told NPR.

Like the New York s scholarship program, New Mexico's covers just tuition, not other living costs. To Del Pilar that is a problem. He said the promise of free college takes more than eliminating (取消) tuition. Paying for housing, meals, books and transportation are still challenges for many low-income students, he said.

1.What's the purpose of the New Mexico plan?

A.To reform the system of education.

B.To improve the quality of education.

C.To attract more students around the world.

D.To make higher education more accessible.

2.What was Lujan Grisham’s attitude towards the New Mexico plan?

A.A little doubtful. B.A little confused.

C.Full of curiosity. D.Full of confidence.

3.Compared with the New Mexico plan, the New York program 　　　　　　　　　 .

A.has fewer restrictions B.benefits more students

C.has more requirements D.covers more living costs

4.What is the problem with the New Mexico plan according to Del Pilar?

A.It is limited to tuition. B.It doesn't include tuition.

C.It opens to all college students. D.It's only available to poor students.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Are you more of a Botticelli or a Van Gogh?

A new feature in the Google Arts & Culture app reveals how a picture of your face may resemble a historical painting.

The app went viral this weekend after users discovered the entertaining feature that analyzes selfies and matches them to historical artwork. It pulls from Google's digital collection of artworks from museums around the world.

The feature rolled out to the app on iOS and Android last month. But users—even some big names such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, musician Pete Wentz, and actors Felicia Day and Kumail Nanjiani—shared their results on news feeds.

The app became the top downloaded iPhone app over the weekend, and landed in the top 10 on Android, according to analytics firm App Annie.

To find your fine art doppelganger(与某人外貌相同的人), open the Google Arts & Culture app and scroll until you see the "Is your portrait in a museum?" feature. Tap "get started"，and you'll be guided through the process.

It's currently only available in the U.S.

Google said the experimental feature uses computer vision technology to scan facial features and extract data to match with paintings. The company said it won't use data from photos for any other purpose but to match it with images in its catalog. It only stores selfies for the time it takes to find matches, Google said.

The selfie feature is similar to other apps that use matching technology to find lookalikes. Microsoft's What Dog app can identify and classify dogs based on photos uploaded to the app.

The Google Arts & Culture app is part of the Google Cultural Institute, which provides information about artists, scientists and historical figures from 1,000 institutions worldwide.

1.Why did the Google Arts & Culture app get so popular?

A.Because some famous people used it.

B.Because it can match selfies to some paintings.

C.Because it's more practical than entertaining.

D.Because it was the top download.

2.How can you find your fine art doppelganger?

A.By visiting Google's digital collection of artworks.

B.By analyzing your selfies.

C.By opening the app and following its guide.

D.By scrolling the screen of your smartphone.

3.What can you infer from the 8th paragraph?

A.The feature of the app has nothing to do with data.

B.Google stores selfies as commercial resources.

C.Selfies will be stored for a long time.

D.The users' selfies will not be abused.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A.The Google Cultural Institute

B.Google app matches your face to a famous painting

C.What Dog app vs Google Arts & Culture app

D.How to find valuable historical paintings

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able to learn new things. But the organizers of a new study say there's no scientific evidence that early musical training affects the intelligence of young people.

An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons improve children's abilily to learn or their performance in school. They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.

Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there's one thing musi­cal training does not do. They say it does not make children more intelligent. Samuel Mehr is a graduate student at Harvard's School of Education. He said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child's intellectual development. He says the evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended music class, the other went to a class that places importance on the visual arts—arts that can be seen.

"The evidence there is 'no'. We found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids participating in these music clases," said Mehr.Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter. He says the results have been mixed. He says only one study seems to show a small percentage increase in IQ, intellectual scores among students after one year of music lessons. He does not believe that IQ is a good measure of child's intelligence. He says researchers in his study compared how well children in the musical training group did on mental processing tasks or projects, then the results were compared to those of children who did not take lessons. There was no evidence that the musical training group did much better on the mental tasks than the other group.

The researchers comfirmed the results with a larger group of children and their par­ents.Mr Mehr says music lessons may not offer children a fast easy way to gain entry to the best schools later of their life. But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons. In his words, "We teach music because music is important for us."

1.According to the new study, musical training______.

A. makes children smarter　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

B. helps a child express creativity

C. does not make children more intelligent　　　　　　　

D. improve children's ability to learn in school

2.Samuel Mehr may agree that______.

A. the children who attended music class are smarter than those who attended arts class

B. IQ is a good measure of a child's intelligence

C. we needn't to teach children music

D. music training is still important for cultural reasons

3.In order to confirm his view, Samuel Mehr______.

A. conducted more than one research

B. interviewed many American adults

C. taught two groups of 4-yetr-olds music and arts

D. offered children a fast way to be admitted to the best schools

4.The artical may be taken from a report about _____.

A. health　　　　　　　　　 B. education　　　　　　　　　 C. 　　　　　　　　　 culture　　　　　　　　　 D.economy

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Google's new camera, called Clips, is a small, smart device. It comes with a case that has a clip (夹子)，but it’s not designed to be worn on your clothing. Most interestingly, it uses artificial intelligence to take photography out of your hands so it can capture moments on its own.

This roughly 2-inch by 2-inch camera, with a three-hour battery life and Gorilla Glass for toughness, is intended for candid moments, like when a child does something cute that may happen too quickly for you to pull out your smartphone.

On board the Clips device, it uses machine learning algorithms (计算程序) to help capture scenes. Those algorithms include face recognition. “Once it learns that there's a face you see frequently, it’ll try to get nice photos of those faces,” said Juston Payne, the device’s product manager. And they also want it to recognize facial expressions, which involved “training it to know what happiness looks like”. The Google team also trained it to recognize what not to shoot — like when a child’s hand is over the lens, or if it is tossed in a dark purse.

The only way to see the images is by connecting the camera with your phone, as it has no screen for viewing or editing.

Were people concerned it could seem strange? Yes, Payne admitted. But they said they addressed that by making it obvious what it is. A green light on the front signals that it is on. Besides, unlike a camera meant to monitor your home, it is not connected to the Internet.

“This product is only possible because of the way that silicon has advanced” Payne said, noting that it was only in the past year or so that they could squeeze the technology down into a device this size. Going forward, we’re likely to get more assistance from the artificial intelligence packed into our apps and gadgets.

1.What is the most outstanding feature of Clips?

A. It allows of hands-free photography.　　 B. It enables easy internet access.

C. It is equipped with tough glass.　　 D. It can be worn on your clothing.

2.What does the underlined word “candid”, in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. touching.　　 B. brief　　 C. unforgettable.　　 D. embarrassing.

3.What makes Clips a reality according to Juston Payne?

A. The advance in technology.　　 B. The popularity of the Internet.

C. The rise of the smartphone industry.　　 D. The reduction in the price of lens.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A. Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life.　　 B. New Gadgets in the Age of Apps.

C. A New Digital Camera from Google.　　 D. An Alternative Way to Photograph.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Google's new camera, called Clips, is a small, smart device. It comes with a case that has a clip (夹子)，but it’s not designed to be worn on your clothing. Most interestingly, it uses artificial intelligence to take photography out of your hands so it can capture moments on its own.

This roughly 2-inch by 2-inch camera, with a three-hour battery life and Gorilla Glass for toughness, is intended for candid moments, like when a child does something cute that may happen too quickly for you to pull out your smartphone.

Onboard the Clips device, it uses machine learning algorithms (计算程序) to help capture scenes. Those algorithms include face recognition. “Once it learns that there's a face you see frequently, it’ll try to get nice photos of those faces,” said Juston Payne, the device’s product manager. And they also want it to recognize facial expressions, which involved “training it to know what happiness looks like”. The Google team also trained it to recognize what not to shoot — like when a child’s hand is over the lens, or if it is tossed in a dark purse.

The only way to see the images is by connecting the camera with your phone, as it has no screen for viewing or editing.

Were people concerned it could seem strange? Yes, Payne admitted. But they said they addressed that by making it obvious what it is. A green light on the front signals that it is on. Besides, unlike a camera meant to monitor your home, it is not connected to the Internet.

“This product is only possible because of the way that silicon has advanced” Payne said, noting that it was only in the past year or so that they could squeeze the technology down into a device this size. Going forward, we’re likely to get more assistance from the artificial intelligence packed into our apps and gadgets.

1.What is the most outstanding feature of Clips?

A. It is equipped with tough glass.

B. It enables easy internet access.

C. It allows of hands-free photography.

D. It can be worn on your clothing.

2.What does the underlined word “candid”, in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. brief　　 B. touching.

C. unforgettable.　　 D. embarrassing.

3.What makes Clips a reality according to Juston Payne?

A. The popularity of the Internet.

B. The advance in technology.

C. The rise of the smartphone industry.

D. The reduction in the price of lens.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A. A New Digital Camera from Google.

B. New Gadgets in the Age of Apps.

C. Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life.

D. An Alternative Way to Photograph.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Google’s new camera, called Clips, is a smart device. It comes with a case that has a clip (夹 子), but it’s not　 designed to be worn　 on　 your　 clothing. Most interestingly,　 it uses　 artificial intelligence to take photography out of your hands and captures moments entirely on its own!

What sets this roughly 2-inch by 2-inch camera, with a three-hour battery life and Gorilla Glass for toughness apart is that it is specially intended for candid moments, like when a child does something cute that may happen too quickly for you to pull out your smartphone.

The Clips device, it uses machine learning algorithms (　 计 算 程 序 ) to help capture scenes. Those algorithms include face recognition. “Once it learns that there’s a face you see frequently, it’ll try to get nice photos of those faces,” said Juston Payne, the device’s product manager. And they also want it to recognize facial expressions, which involved “training it to know what happiness looks like”. The Google team also trained it to recognize what not to shoot—like when a child’s hand is over the lens, or if it is tossed in a dark purse.

The only way to see the images is by connecting the camera with your phone, as it has no screen for viewing or editing.

Concerned it could seem strange? Yes, Payne admitted, but he said they addressed that by making it obvious what it is. A green light on the front signals that it is on. Besides, unlike a camera meant to monitor your home, it is not connected to the Internet.

“This product is only possible because of the way that silicon(硅) has advanced,” Payne said that now they could squeeze the technology down into a device this size. Going forward, we’re likely to get more assistance from the artificial intelligence packed into our apps and gadgets.

1.What is the most outstanding feature of Clips?

A.It enables easy Internet access.

B.It is equipped with tough glass.

C.It can be worn on your clothing.

D.It allows of hands-free photography.

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

A.Awkward. B.Brief.

C.Touching. D.Unforgettable.

3.What makes Clips a reality according to Juston Payne?

A.The advance in technology.

B.The popularity of the Internet.

C.The screen for viewing and editing.

D.The rise of the smartphone industry.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.New gadgets in the age of apps.

B.Artificial intelligence in daily Life.

C.A new digital camera from Google.

D.An alternative way to photograph.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

How to Make Friends, According to Science

Friendship is one of life’s most important features, and one too often taken for granted.

The human desire for companionship may feel boundless, but research suggests that our social capital is finite—we can only handle a certain number of relationships at one time. Social scientists have used some creative approaches to measure the size of people’s social networks; these have returned estimates ranging from about 250 to about 5,500 people. Looking more specifically at friendship, a study using the exchange of Christmas cards to test closeness put the average person’s friend group at about 121 people. However vast our networks may be, our inner circle tends to be much smaller. The average American trusts only 10 to 20 people. Moreover, that number may be shrinking: From 1998 to 2017, the average number of trusted friends decreased from three to two. This is both sad and of important consequence, because people who have strong social relationships tend to live longer than those who don’t.

So what should you do if your social life is lacking? Here the research is instructive. To begin with, don’t refuse to consider the humble acquaintance（交情）. Even interacting with people with whom one has weak social ties has a meaningful influence on well-being. Beyond that, building deeper friendships may be largely a matter of putting in time. A recent study out of the University of Kansas found that it takes about 50 hours of socializing to go from acquaintance to casual friend, an additional 40 hours to become a “real” friend, and a total of 200 hours to become a close friend.

If that sounds like too much effort, renewing inactive social ties can be especially rewarding. Reconnected friends can quickly recapture the trust they previously built, while offering each other a dash of novelty（新奇）drawn from whatever they’ve been up to in the meantime. And if all else fails, you could start randomly to tell secrets to people you don’t know that well. Self-disclosure makes us more likable, and as a bonus, we are more likely to favor those to whom we have revealed our soul.

Longing for closeness and connection is common and everywhere, which suggests that most of us are stumbling（跌跌撞撞）through the world, expecting companionship that could be easily provided by the lonesome stumblers all around us. So set aside this article, turn to someone nearby, and try to make a friend.

1.From Paragraph 2, we can know that 　　　　　　　　 .

A. a strong social relationship can guarantee a long life

B. real friendships are based on the exchange of presents

C. people’s inner circle is decreasing despite large social networks

D. people’s social networks depend on their desire for companionship

2.What does the author suggest to improve one’s social life?

A. Sharing secrets with close friends.

B. Choosing likable people as friends.

C. Avoiding the humble acquaintance.

D. Spending time for deeper friendships.

3.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The tips on how to develop friendship.

B. The reasons for seeking companionship.

C. The benefits brought by a good social life.

D. The relationship between friendship and happiness.

4.The author helps readers better understand his idea mainly by 　　　　　　　　 .

A. using research results

B. making comparisons

C. giving some examples

D. telling personal stories

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

NEW YORK—Microsoft on Monday made another effort to challenge Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android in the exploding smartphone market—launching a wireless operating system，Windows Phone 7.

Consumers will consider it“always delightful and thoroughly mine，”Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at a launch event. Ballmer said last year that Microsoft had“screwed up”with its Windows Mobile operating system.For example，it failed to keep up with touch-screen innovations that make iPhones and Android phones easy to use.

Microsoft fell from third to fourth place in market share this year，behind BlackBerry，iPhone and Android. Only 10.8% of smartphone owners used Microsoft’s system in August，down from 18% last December.

But Windows Phone 7 is“a total departure from anything they’ve done”.Microsoft says it sought to simplify common activities. For example，you can instantly take a picture with a phone’s camera by pushing a button on the device. You don’t have to first awaken it from its sleep mode and launch the camera application. You also can program the phones to automatically upload photos to Facebook or other social network sites in a couple of seconds. Users can easily work with Microsoft Office contact and calendar information as well as documents created in Microsoft’s Word，Excel and PowerPoint.

The phones will not show videos built on Adobe’s Flash platform，widely used by services including YouTube and Hulu.

AT&T will offer the first Windows Phone 7 smartphone，the Samsung Focus，on Nov.8.Soon after，it will have the LG Quantum and HTC Surround. Each will cost S|  199.99 with a two-year service contract. T-Mobile will have two Windows Phone 7 models out for the holiday shopping season：the HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro. It did not say how much they’ll cost.

1.What is the main idea of paragraph 4？

2.What does the underlined phrase“screwed up”in the 2^nd paragraph probably mean？

3.Which of the following phones will NOT use Windows Phone 7 operating system？

4.Why did Microsoft see a drop in market share last year？

5.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage？

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析