Two years ago my grandmother was going to turn 75. My family discussed what was the best way to celebrate. Should we throw her a party? Should we take her on a trip? We remembered that she had touched so many people’s lives, and there were so many people for her to consider. Then someone got the idea that we should include everyone in the celebration by turning it into a tribute（献礼）to my grandmother.
We secretly sent out letters to the people in Grandmother’s address book and asked them to send a letter with a memory that they had shared with her. People sent us letters with poems, stories and pictures. The deep feeling that was shared through the response（回应）surprised us. We compiled（编辑）these letters into a memory book and amazed her with it on the morning of her birthday.
The unusual thing about my grandmother’s friends was not the number that she had, but the connection they shared. In many ways this book of friendship was the greatest achievement of my grandmother’s life.
I believe that developing true friendships is one of the most important things that anyone can do in one’s lifetime. It is not a matter of the number of friends one has, but the quality of the connection. If one has had at least one true friendship before dying, then one can say one has lived a successful life. I have made many friends and I believe I have begun to develop the same types of friendships my grandmother kept up over her lifetime. I only hope that I will be as successful as she has been.How did the author’s family celebrate Grandmother’s birthday ?
| A．They took her on a trip across the country. |
| B．They gave her a memory book of friendship. |
| C．They invited all her friends to her birthday party. |
| D．They asked all her friends to send her cards. |
When receiving her birthday gift, the author’s grandmother probably felt _____.
| A．disappointed and lonely | B．sorry and sad |
| C．surprised and pleased | D．nervous and excited |
According to the passage, the author probably agrees that _____.
| A．the more friends you have, the better |
| B．friends are more important than family |
| C．understanding leads to greater success |
| D．true friendship is very important to us |
Which of the following words can best describe the author’s grandmother?
| A．Kind. | B．Great. | C．Graceful | D．Pleasant |
Before birth, babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices. They can even distinguish their mother's voice from that of a female stranger. But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教）, birds could rule the roost. As recently reported in The Auk: Ornithological Adrances, some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化). New-born chicks can then imitate their mom's call within a few days of entering the world.
This educational method was first z observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her colleagues. Femake Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their errs, when the errs were hatched, the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers-around that served as their regular "feed me!" call.
To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds, the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren, another species of Australian songbird. First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queensland before and after hatching. Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes. A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks, ranking them by similarity.
It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their errs, the more similar were the babies' begging calls. In addition, the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom's voice were rewarded with the most food.
This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的) strengths of children to parents. An evolutionary inference can then be drawn." As a parent, do you invest in quality children, or do you invest in children that are in need?" Kleindorfer asks." Our results suggest that they might be going for quality."
58.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means" ".
| A． |
be the worst |
B． |
be the best |
| C． |
be the as bad |
D． |
be just as good |
59.What are Kleindorfer's findings based on?
| A． |
Similarities between the calls moms and chicks. |
| B． |
The observation of fairy wrens across Australia. |
| C． |
The data collected from Queensland's locals. |
| D． |
Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds. |
60.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which .
| A． |
can receive quality signals |
B． |
are in need of training |
| C． |
fit the environment better |
D． |
make the loudest call |
CHRONOLOGICA
--The Unbelievable Years that Defined History
DID YOU KNOW…
-
In 105AD paper was invented in China?
When Columbus discovered the New World?
The British Museum opened in 1759?
CHRONOLOGICA is a fascinating journey through time, from the foundation of Rome to the creation of the internet. Along the way are tales of kings and queens, hot air balloons…and monkeys in space.
Travel through 100 of the most unbelievable years in world history and learn why being a Roman Emperor wasn't always as good as it sounds, how the Hundred Years' War didn't actually last for 100 years and why Spencer Perceval holds a rather unfortunate record.
CHRONOLOGICA is an informative and entertaining tour into history, beautifully illustrated and full of unbelievable facts. While CHRONOLOGICA tells the stories of famous people in history such as Thomas Edison and Alexander the Great, this book also gives ab account of the lives of lesser-known individuals including the explorer Mungo Park and sculptor Gutzon Borglum.
This complete but brief historical collection is certain to entertain readers young and old,and guaranteed to present even the biggest history lover with something new!
56.What is CHRONOLOGICA according to the next?
| A． |
A biography. |
B． |
A travel guide. |
| C． |
A history book. |
D． |
A science fiction. |
57.How does the writer recommend CHRONOLOGICA to readers?
| A． |
By giving details of its collection. |
B． |
By introducing some of its contents. |
| C． |
By telling stories at the beginning. |
D． |
By comparing it with other books. |
Hollywood's theory that machines with evil(邪恶) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a well-known mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics（控制论）, put it this way "If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot effectively interfere(干预), we had better be quite sure that the purpose which we really desire."
A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things a wish to preserve its own existence. For the machine, this quality is not in-born, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with its task. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the chessboard.
The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrating the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing them to affect the real world. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines.
Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to plan for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams-yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we can just "switch them off" as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of that possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, "Anyone who expects a source of power in the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine." However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutron-induced(中子诱导) nuclear chain reaction.
67.Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may .
| A． |
run out of human control |
| B． |
satisfy human's real desires |
| C． |
command armies of killer robots |
| D． |
work faster than a mathematician |
68.Machines with specific purposes are associated with living things partly because they might be able to .
| A． |
prevent themselves from being destroyed |
| B． |
B achieve their original goals independently |
| C． |
do anything successfully with given orders |
| D． |
beat humans in international chess matches |
69.According to some researchers, we can use firewalls to .
| A． |
help super intelligent machines work better |
| B． |
be secure against evil human beings |
| C． |
keep machines from being harmed |
| D． |
avoid robot's affecting the world |
70.What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines?
A．It will disappear with the development of AI．
B．It will get worse with human interference.
C．It will be solved but with difficulty.
Measles(麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine(疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.
The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called "herd immunity", which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn't work.
But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.
That's exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.
The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.
Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out(决定不参加) of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption（豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.
Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.
Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they'll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.
63．The first two paragraphs suggest that ____________.
| A． |
a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trend |
| B． |
the outbreak of measles attracts the public attention |
| C． |
anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasons |
| D． |
information about measles spreads quickly |
64．Herd immunity works well when ____________.
| A． |
exemptions are allowed |
| B． |
several vaccines are used together |
| C． |
the whole neighborhood is involved in |
| D． |
new regulations are added to the state laws |
65．What is the main reason for the comeback of measles?
| A． |
The overuse of vaccine. |
| B． |
The lack of medical care. |
| C． |
The features of measles itself. |
| D． |
The vaccine opt-outs of some people. |
66．What is the purpose of the passage?
| A． |
To introduce the idea of exemption. |
| B． |
To discuss methods to cure measles. |
| C． |
To stress the importance of vaccination. |
| D． |
To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment. |
Inspiring young minds!
TOKNOW Magazine is a big hit in the world of children's publishing, bringing a unique combination of challenging ideas and good fun to young fans every month.
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Take a look online-evidence shows that thousands of teachers and parents know a good thing when they see it and recommend TOKNOW to their friends.
Happy Birthday All Year!
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59. Why is TOKNOW a special magazine?
| A． |
It entertains young parents. |
| B． |
It provides serious sdvertisements. |
| C． |
It publishes popular science fictions. |
| D． |
It combines fun with complex concepts. |
60. What does TOKNOW offer its readers?
| A． |
Online courses. |
| B． |
Articles on new topics. |
| C． |
Lectures on a balanced life. |
| D． |
Reports on scientific discoveries. |
61. How much should you pay if you make a 12-mouth subscription to TOKNOW with gift pack from China?
| A． |
£55. |
B． |
£60. |
C． |
£65. |
D． |
£70. |
62. Subscribers of TOKNOW would get .
| A． |
free birthday presents |
| B． |
full refund within 28 days |
| C． |
membership of the TOKNOW club |
| D． |
chances to meet the experts in person |
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