While it may be unlikely for a computer to write a best seller, a technology expert has created a computer program that writes its own fiction stories with minimal user input. The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerized representations of emotions and tensions between characters.
An Internet survey was carried out to see the popularity of the computer-generated stories, other computerized stories and stories written solely by a human. The result was that readers ranked MEXICA stories highest for flow and coherence, structure, content, suspense and overall quality. Rafael Pérezy Pérez, the creator of MEXICA, explained that a story might begin with something as basic as, “The enemy wounded the knight. The princess cured the knight. The knight killed the enemy. The knight rewarded the princess. The end.”
The program reads characters as variables (变量) and assigns a numerical value, between a continuum (连续体) from -3 to +3, to emotional connections that are defined as either amorous or non-amorous. The numerical value is equivalent to the degree of emotion, with -3 being intense hate and +3 being intense love. The program also understands story tension, such as linking the word “wounded” with tension. This too is assigned a numerical value.
Once these clusters of emotional links and tensions are established, the program begins what is called an “engagement reflection cycle”. Basically this involves searching a database of story actions and other happenings, which are called “atoms”, and determines the best match for the characters and contexts for that moment.
The process repeats itself again and again until the system can no longer make any matches. At this point, the computer analyzes the story for coherence and “interestingness”. The program views a story as interesting when tension levels increase and fall throughout the piece. If the program finds that the story is boring or incoherent in places, it will replace or insert atoms until a version is thought to be satisfactory.What can we know about MEXICA from the passage?
| A．It is a computer program that can write fiction stories on its own. |
| B．It is a computer program created by Rafael Pérezy Pérez. |
| C．It is blamed for low quality among many other descriptors. |
| D．The stories it has written is not very popular among readers. |
What is basically needed for MEXICA to start to write a story?
| A．The beginning and the end of the story should be provided. |
| B．The background of the story needs to be keyed in. |
| C．The human operator should come up with a simple storyline. |
| D．Emotions and tensions between characters should be determined. |
How does the computer system describe the characters in its story?
| A．Characters in the story are given different numerical values. |
| B．Characters are developed according to the tension preset. |
| C．Characters are designed by using the language MEXICA can understand. |
| D．Each character is valued for its value in the construction of the story. |
What are “atoms” understood by the computer system?
| A．The tensions preset for the story. |
| B．The characters designed for the story. |
| C．Episodes of action of the story. |
| D．Events becoming of the characters. |
“如何真正处理好孩子与父母间的关系”一直是我们非常关注和想了解的话题。沟通是必要的方式之一，可如何能够进行真正心灵上的沟通？我们，作为父母的，作为孩子的，都得需要思索。这篇文章会给你一定的启示. . . .
I was 13 years old. My family had moved to Southern California from North Florida a year before. I hit adolescence with a vengeance. I was angry and rebellious, with little regard for anything my parents had to say, particularly if it had to do with me. Like so many teenagers, I struggled to escape from anything that didn't agree with my picture of the world. A "brilliant without need of guidance" kid, I rejected any overt offering of love. In fact, I got angry at the mention of the word love.
One night, after a particularly difficult day, I _____________, shut the door and got into bed. As I lay down in the privacy of my bed, my hands slipped under my pillow. There was an envelope. I pulled it out and on the envelope it said, "To read when you're alone. "
Since I was alone, no one would know whether I read it or not, so I opened it. It said "Mike, I know life is hard right now, I know you are frustrated and I know we don't do everything right. I also know that I love you completely and nothing you do or say will ever change that. I am here for you if you ever need to talk, and if you don't, that's okay. Just know that no matter where you go or what you do in your life, I will always love you and be proud that you are my son. I'm here for you and I love you—hat will never change. Love, Mom.
That was the first of several "To read when you're alone" letters. They were never mentioned until I was an adult.
Today I travel the world helping people. I was in Sarasota, Florida, teaching a seminar when, at the end of the day, a lady came up to me and shared the difficulty she was having with her son. We walked out to the beach, and I told her of my mom's undying love and about the "To read when you're alone" letters. Several weeks later, I got a card that said she had written her first letter and left it for her son.
That night as I went to bed, I put my hands under my pillow and remembered the relief I felt every time I got a letter. In the midst of my turbulent teen years, the letters were the calm assurance that I could be loved in spite of me, not because of me. Just before I fell asleep I thanked God that my mom knew what I, an angry teenager, needed. Today when the seas of life get stormy, I know that just under my pillow there is that calm assurance that love - consistent, abiding, unconditional love - changes lives.
1. What’s the best title of the passage?
2. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?
I reached out my hands for the letter under the pillow that night when I went to bed, and I always felt relief with the letter under my pillow.
3. Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.（within ten words）
4. What do you learn after reading the passage? （within 30 words）
5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
These days we hear a lot about how air pollution is changing temperatures on the earth. New evidence from a mountaintop in China now suggests that pollution can also change the amount of rain and snow that falls in some places.
Usually, more rain falls in mountainous places than in flat areas upwind from the mountains. That’s because air can hold a lot of water. When wind blows wet air up a mountainside, the air gets colder. This temperature change often forces water to fall as rain or snow.
In recent years, however, many mountainous areas in the western United States have been getting less rain than normal. Mountains that are downwind from cities have experienced the biggest drops.
Some scientists have theorized（推理）that pollution drifts （趋势）from the cities into the mountains, affecting rainfall, but proving this link has been difficult.
Searching for answers, a team led by a scientist from the Hebrew University went to s mountain in China called Mount Hua, which is 2,060 meters tall and lies about 120 kilometers east of the Chinese city Xi’an. Since 1954, scientists have been collecting details about rainfall, humidity（湿度）, and visibility（能见度）in the area.
Using this data, the scientists compared rainfall on Mount Hua to rainfall in the nearest city, Huayin, on days with different levels of visibility. When the air was clear and people could see as far as 20 km, the scientists found that 65% more rain fell on the mountain than in the city.
But when the air was smoggy, allowing only 8 km of visibility through the mist, the mountain received just 20% more rain than the city. The new data supports the theory that pollution affects rainfall.
Some scientists believe that there are other explanations for the numbers. It’s possible, for example, that natural particles（微粒）in the air, rather than particles produced by pollution, are affecting visibility.According to the 1st paragraph, air pollution is changing the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．the temperature | B．the amount of rain |
| C．the habit of eating | D．the amount of snow |
According to the passage, what will probably happen when the wet air in the sky gets colder?
| A．It will probably rain or snow | B．It will probably be cloudy. |
| C．It will probably wind | D．It will probably become dry. |
Why did the team led by a scientist go to Mount Hua?
| A．They wanted to pay a visit to Mount Hua. |
| B．They wanted to collect the data for their theory. |
| C．They wanted to measure Mount Hua. |
| D．They wanted to have a good rest on Mount Hua. |
You can most probably read the passage in _______.
| A．a travel guide |
| B．a telephone book |
| C．a cartoon book |
| D．a science book |
Over three years ago, the French director Jean—Pierre Jeunet and actress Audery Tautou won people's hearts with their popular comedy "Amelie". The fairytale-like film tells the story of a single waitress who helps lonely people find love.
Now, the pair are back with another film. "A Very Long Engagement" is a film about World War I. It received 12 nominations（提名）from France's Cesar Awards last week, including best film, best director and best actress.
Mathilde （Audrey Tautou） is a young woman who becomes disabled after suffering from a disease as a chilD．She lives on a farm with her aunt Benedicte （Chantal Neuwith） and uncle Sylvain （Dominique Pinon）. She receives a regular income from the wealth left to her by parents. She has a fierce and loyal love for Manech （Gaspard Ulliel）, her childhood boyfriend and fiance‘（未婚夫）. He is the son of a lighthouse keeper. When he goes off to the battle fields of World War I, she is lonely, but confident he will return. Early on in the film, five French soldiers are sentenced to death because of intentionally hurting themselves to escape duty. They are pushed into the German's line of fire. They are made to protect themselves without guns. One of them is Manech. Mathilde firmly believes that Manech is alive. She is determined to find him. She hires a private detective to find out what really happened to those French soldiers. Through letters, photographs, interviews with people who remain alive after the war, and wartime papers, Mathilde discovers how cruel the war is. She also sees the heroism of ordinary men, trying to stay alive on the battle field.
It's funny, sweet and sometimes sad to watch. Jeunet gives a realistic portrait of warfare. Tautou remains the emotional center of the film. She shines as Mathilde, a woman who suffers one failure after another, but refuses to give up her seek for her lover. It's a film for all romantic people who are in search of true love.How many actors and actresses are mentioned in the passage?
A．2 B．5 C．4 5．6The underlined phrase “the pair” refers to ___________.
| A．Pierre Jeunet; Audery Tautou | B．Pierre Jeunet; Dominique Pinon |
| C．Audery Tautou; Chantal Neuwith | D．Audery Tautou; Gaspard Ulliel |
What do we learn about Mathilde from the passage?
| A．She becomes disabled after a car accident. |
| B．She was a strong-willed woman. |
| C．She lives on a farm with her parents. |
| D．She has a fierce and loyal love for Gaspard Ulliel. |
According to the passage, why are the soldiers made to protect themselves without guns?
| A．Because they are very strong and needn’t call for guns. |
| B．Because they don’t know how to use guns. |
| C．Because their guns have been lost. |
| D．Because they are punished for trying to escape duty. |
Imagine being able to recall just about anything, your mind functioning as a nearly endless encyclopedic（百科全书的）book of names, pictures, dates and events.
Brad Williams’ excellent memory recall makes him a personified version（个人版）of Google. His wide memory allows him to recall almost any news event and anything he has experienced, including specific dates and even the weather. “I was sort of a human Google for my family. I’ve always been able to recall things,” the 51-yearold said on Good Morning America in his first television interview.
Williams’ type of detailed, complete memory is called hyperthymesia and few known cases exist. Brad’s brain scan are now being studied by scientists at the Center for Neurobiology（神经生物学）of Learning and Memory, at the University of California.
At first, the drive-time radio broadcaster didn’t think his ability to recall so much was anything special. Gradually, over the years, other people noticed how much he was able to remember in detail about events. Then in 2006, he read an article about a wman whom scietists called AJ, which prompted Williams to come forward. AJ is a writwer of a medical journal, and the only scientifically-documented case of superior memory.
“When I read about AJ, my immediate thought was : Oh my God. That’s Brad!” said williams’ brother, Eric Williams.
Eric Williams is eager to learn about the inner working of his brother’s mind. He is in the process of making documentary（纪录片）about Brad, appropriately titled: “Unforgettable.” In the film, which hasn’t been finished yet, Williams takes on a person who is Googling answers to 20 questions. He answers 18 of them correctly and is 11 minutes faster than the Google user.
“All of us have the ability to store this information, but the difference with Brad is that he can recall it,” Eric Williams said.According to the passage, which of the following is true about Brad Williams?
| A．He has worked for Google, so he recall any news events. |
| B．He may be one of the rare cases of people with a superior memory. |
| C．He is now the host of Good Morning America. |
| D．He is working as a teacher in California. |
Why does Brad Williams have such a good memory?
| A．Because he was born with a rare ability. |
| B．Because his work requires a good memory. |
| C．Because he has to answer others’ questions. |
| D．Because he was specially trained in his chilhood. |
The underlined word “prompted” most probably means _______.
| A．helped | B．wanted | C．warned | D．encouraged |
The best title for this passage might be ___________.
| A．The Ability to Store All Information |
| B．A Documentary called Unforgettable |
| C．“Google Man” Recalls Nearly Every Thing |
| D．Brad Williams and Google User |
Active vacations are often the most relaxing of all. But Wait! It's all in defining what an active vacation is. We don't expect you to take up jogging, backpacking, or hang gliding. we ask the sedentary（爱坐的）vacationers to spend two to four hours a day doing things, such as walking the city streets, exploring a nature preserve, or taking a leisurely rowboat ride.
These kinds of activities aren't just good for your physical health. They improve your mental health, even your spiritual health. And they make vacations memorable and worthwhile. Here are some fresh ideas for active and healthy vacation.
Make the morning your activity time. At that time it is most likely that the weather will be friendlier, your energy level higher, and your schedule emptier than later in the day.
Have a walk at dawn or dusk. Such activity is called rejuvenation（恢复活力）. Try to make this a daily routine of life away from home, and you will guarantee yourself both physical and spiritual youth.
Get into the water as much as you can. Don't allow yourself to spend your entire time sitting in front of the water. Whether it is the ocean, a swimming pool, or a tree-lined lake, make sure you get into the water for swimming or games or even walking. Merely standing in waist-high water is a good workout, thanks to the action of the water. And you'll feel so much more alive!
Choose a cruise for your trip. It's amazing how active you can be being stuck on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. Most cruise ships offer numerous options for seaworthy exercise. During your sea and land trips you can burn calories as you swim, hike, dive, and horseback ride.
Get out of the car every two hours. Many of us spend a large part of our vacations on the road, either getting to and from our destinations, or using the car for sightseeing. But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, great and memorable vacations don't happen in a car seat. Don't wait for tiredness or nature's call to get you to pull over. Frequently get out and stretch, walk, picnic, shop, visit, and have fun. It's important for your health and energy, and it makes traveling a lot more active and interesting.The first paragraph mainly tells us ____________.
| A．that active vacations are very relaxing |
| B．the activities we should join in |
| C．how many hours we should exercise every day |
| D．what an active vacations is |
How many tips does the writer give in the passage?
| A．Three | B．Four | C．Five | D．Six |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．Usually the weather in the morning is better. |
| B．You can have a memorable vacation in a car. |
| C．Swimming can make you feel much more alive. |
| D．Don’t drive your car very often to go sightseeing. |
Which of the following is probably the best title for this passage?
| A．Driving Tips | B．How to Relax Without cars |
| C．Give up Your Car and Walk | D．Make your Vacation Healthy |
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