The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are proliferating in smartphones, too: Apple’s Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?
Simple though it may seem, voice has the power to transform computing, by providing a natural means of interaction. Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers abolishes the need for the abstraction of a “user interface” at all. Just as mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful and ubiquitous than people can imagine today.
Voice will not wholly replace other forms of input and output. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to converse with a machine by typing rather than talking (Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with a built-in screen). But voice is destined to account for a growing share of people’s interactions with the technology around them, from washing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have left to virtual assistants in corporate call-centres. However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs—and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy.
Computer-dictation systems have been around for years. But they were unreliable and required lengthy training to learn a specific user’s voice. Computers’ new ability to recognise almost anyone’s speech dependably without training is the latest manifestation of the power of “deep learning”, an artificial-intelligence technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the internet. Thanks to deep learning, machines now nearly equal humans in transcription accuracy, computerised translation systems are improving rapidly and text-to-speech systems are becoming less robotic and more natural-sounding. Computers are, in short, getting much better at handling natural language in all its forms
Although deep learning means that machines can recognise speech more reliably and talk in a less stilted manner, they still don’t understand the meaning of language. That is the most difficult aspect of the problem and, if voice-driven computing is truly to flourish, one that must be overcome. Computers must be able to understand context in order to maintain a coherent conversation about something, rather than just responding to simple, one-off voice commands, as they mostly do today (“Hey, Siri, set a timer for ten minutes”). Researchers in universities and at companies large and small are working on this very problem, building “bots” that can hold more elaborate conversations about more complex tasks, from retrieving information to advising on mortgages to making travel arrangements.
Many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected microphones listening in every room and from every smartphone. Not all audio is sent to the cloud—devices wait for a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”) before they start relaying the user’s voice to the servers that actually handle the requests—but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.
1.According to Paragraph I the American Echo ___
A.has been sold out before Christmas
B.has been used by most American families
C.came out the market later than Apple’s Siri
D.is more useful than smart phones in fictating e-mails
2.What can we infer about the technology of voice computing?
A.It is more effective and convenient than typing
B.It needs to be improved in some important aspects
C.It increases a person’s chances of communicating with others
D.It will replace other forms of input and output in the near future
3.What are some users of voice -driven devices concerned about?
A.The devices will be in charge of theit life
B.The devices need to be activeated before working
C.They are in the dark about their data’s ownership
D.Their voices can be recognized by every smart technology?
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards voice-driven technology?
A.Worried B.Doubtful
C.Supportive D.Objective
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are proliferating in smartphones, too: Apple’s Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?
Simple though it may seem, voice has the power to transform computing, by providing a natural means of interaction. Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers abolishes the need for the abstraction of a “user interface” at all. Just as mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful and ubiquitous than people can imagine today.
Voice will not wholly replace other forms of input and output. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to converse with a machine by typing rather than talking (Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with a built-in screen). But voice is destined to account for a growing share of people’s interactions with the technology around them, from washing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have left to virtual assistants in corporate call-centres. However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs—and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy.
Computer-dictation systems have been around for years. But they were unreliable and required lengthy training to learn a specific user’s voice. Computers’ new ability to recognise almost anyone’s speech dependably without training is the latest manifestation of the power of “deep learning”, an artificial-intelligence technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the internet. Thanks to deep learning, machines now nearly equal humans in transcription accuracy, computerised translation systems are improving rapidly and text-to-speech systems are becoming less robotic and more natural-sounding. Computers are, in short, getting much better at handling natural language in all its forms
Although deep learning means that machines can recognise speech more reliably and talk in a less stilted manner, they still don’t understand the meaning of language. That is the most difficult aspect of the problem and, if voice-driven computing is truly to flourish, one that must be overcome. Computers must be able to understand context in order to maintain a coherent conversation about something, rather than just responding to simple, one-off voice commands, as they mostly do today (“Hey, Siri, set a timer for ten minutes”). Researchers in universities and at companies large and small are working on this very problem, building “bots” that can hold more elaborate conversations about more complex tasks, from retrieving information to advising on mortgages to making travel arrangements.
Many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected microphones listening in every room and from every smartphone. Not all audio is sent to the cloud—devices wait for a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”) before they start relaying the user’s voice to the servers that actually handle the requests—but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.
1.According to Paragraph I the American Echo ___
A.has been sold out before Christmas
B.has been used by most American families
C.came out the market later than Apple’s Siri
D.is more useful than smart phones in fictating e-mails
2.What can we infer about the technology of voice computing?
A.It is more effective and convenient than typing
B.It needs to be improved in some important aspects
C.It increases a person’s chances of communicating with others
D.It will replace other forms of input and output in the near future
3.What are some users of voice -driven devices concerned about?
A.The devices will be in charge of theit life
B.The devices need to be activeated before working
C.They are in the dark about their data’s ownership
D.Their voices can be recognized by every smart technology?
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards voice-driven technology?
A.Worried B.Doubtful
C.Supportive D.Objective
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Along the rivet banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken，eats green 1eaves has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river，an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young．It is called the hoatzin．
In appearance，the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside．The head is small，with a large set of feathers on the top，bright
eyes, and blue skin．Its nearest relatives are the common birds cuckoos．Its most striking feature，though，is only found in the young．
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the 1eading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip．Using these four claws, together with the beak(喙)，they can climb about in the bushes,
looking very much like primitive birds must have done．When the young hoatzins have 1earned to fly，they lose their claws．
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds，but in April，when the rainy season begins，they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons．
B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins．
C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon．
D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins．
2.Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that——
A．they look like young cuckoos
B．they have claws on the wings
C．they eat a lot like a cow
D．they live on rivet banks
3.What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
A．They had claws to help them climb．
B．They could fly long distances．
C．They had four wings like hoatzins．
D．They had a head with long feathers on the top
4.Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
A．To find more food．
B．To protect themselves better
C．To keep themselves warm．
D．To produce their young．
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking (显著的) feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive(原始的) birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.
B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.
C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.
D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.
2.Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that_________ ．
A．they look like young cuckoos
B．they have claws on the wings
C．they eat a lot like a cow
D．they live on river banks
3.What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
A．They had claws to help them climb.
B．They could fly long distances.
C．They had four wings like hoatzins.
D．They had a head with long feathers on the top.
4.Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
A．To find more food. B．To protect themselves better.
C．To keep themselves warm. D．To produce their young.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Rainforests, it turns out, are not created equal. Take the Amazon rainforest, an area that covers about 7 million square kilometers. But within that huge expanse are all kinds of ecological zones, and some of these zones, says Greg Asner, are a lot more crowded than others.
“Some forests have many species of trees,” he said, “others have few. Many forests are unique from others in terms of their overall species composition…” And all of these different small areas of forest exist within the giant space that is the Amazon Rainforest.
So Asner, using the signature technique called airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy, began to map these different zones from the air. “By mapping the traits of tropical forests from above,” he explains, “we are, for the first time, able to understand how forest composition varies geographically.”
The results show up in multicolored maps, with each color representing different kinds of species, different kinds of trees, the different kinds of chemical they are producing and using, and even the amount of biodiversity, the animal and plant species that live within each zone.
Armed with this information, Asner says decision-makers now have “a first-time way to decide whether any given forest geography is protected well enough or not. If not, then new protections can be put in place to save a given forest from destruction.”
Asner says the information is a great way for decision-makers to develop a “cost-benefit ratio type analysis.” Conservation efforts can be expensive, so armed with this information, government leaders can ensure they are making the most of their conservation dollars by focusing on areas that are the most biologically diverse or unique.
The next step, Asner says, is to take his project global, and to put his eyes even higher in the sky, on orbital satellites. “The technique we developed and applied to map Peru is ready to go global.” Asner said. “We want to put the required instrumentation on an Earth-orbiting satellite, to map the planet every month, which will give the best possible view of how the world’s biodiversity is changing, and where to put much needed protections.
1.Unequally-created rainforests refer to the fact ______.
A. how crowded they are
B. where they are located
C. when they came into being
D. what kinds of species they have
2.What can government leaders learn from Asner’s mapping?
A. The cost to conserve forests.
B. The chemicals needing for certain forests.
C. The forest areas needing special protection.
D. The number of animals living in a forest.
3.What is Asner planning to do now?
A. To send a satellite to map the world.
B. To track the change of biodiversity in the world.
C. To develop technology for mapping the globe.
D. To advertise his project around the world.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Using eyes in the sky to map biodiversity.
B. Making a map of big forests in the world.
C. Learning about the biodiversity of Amazon forest.
D. Protecting the forest from being destructed.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
It is known to all that ____ computer was invented in the USA.
A. that B. / C. the D. one
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Passage 1
The Information Highway is the road that links computer users to a large number of on-line services: the Web, e-mail, and software, to mention just a few. Not long ago, the information Highway was a new road, with not many users. Now, everyone seems to want to take a drive, with over 30 million families connected worldwide. Not surprisingly, this well-traveled highway is starting to look like a well-traveled highway. Traffic jams can cause many serious problems, forcing the system to close down for repair. Naturally, accidents will happen on such a crowded road, and usually victims are some files, gone forever. Then, of course, there’s Mr. Cool, with his new broad-band connection, who speeds down the highway faster than most of us can go. But don’t trick yourself; he pays for that speeding.
Passage 2
Want to know more about global warming and how you can help prevent it? Doctor Herman Friedman, who is considered a leading expert on the subject, will speak at Grayson Hall next Friday. Friedman studied environmental science at three well-known universities around the world before becoming a professor in the subject. He has also traveled around the world observing environmental concerns. The gradual bleaching (变白) of the Grate Barrier Reef, which came into the public eye in 2002, is his latest interest. Signed copies of his colorful book, which was published just last month, will be on sale after his talk.
1.The Information Highway _________.
A. appeals to a large number of users
B. is crowded with car drivers
C. offers just a few on-line services
D. is free from traffic accidents
2. How does Mr. Cool manage to travel the Information Highway so fast?
A. By storing fewer files.
B. By repairing the system.
C. By buying a better computer.
D. By using a broad-band connection.
3. What can be learned from Passage 2?
A. There will be a book show at Grayson Hall.
B. Friedman is now studying the Great Barrier Reef.
C. There will be a talk on global warming this week.
D. Friedman is a leading expert on computer science.
4. Passage 2 is most probably .
A. a poster about a lecture
B. an ad for a new book
C. a note to a doctor in a university
D. an introduction to a professor
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
David said that it was ____________ his strong interest in computers that he chose the course.
A．next to B．far from C．in all D．due to
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The computer made in the USA is cheaper than___ made in Germany.
| A．the same | B．any | C．that | D．one |
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It is reported that the number of students_______ computer games has been on the increase in recent years.
A. devoted to B. related to C. connected to D. addicted to
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was ______ computer games that cost the boy a lot of time that he ought to have spent on his lessons.
A. to have played B. playing
C. played D. having played
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析