AI makes our lives easier and better. Let's see the amazing AI.
Cool driverless bus
A bus door opens and you get on. Wait! Where is the driver? Here is a new kind of driverless bus called Apolong. It has 14 seats and doesn't need a driver. The bus follows traffic rules. It stops as soon as it sees a stop light.
Your close friend
Hi, everyone. I'm Xiaobing, a chatbot（聊天机器人）. I speak like a 17-year-old girl. If you feel lonely, you can talk with me. I'm talented at singing, writing poems and telling stories. I want to be your friend!
World's first anchor (主播)
Hey, look! The famous Chinese anchor Qiu Hao is reporting the news for us. But is "he" really Qiu Hao? The answer is "no". This is the world's first AI anchor. It looks and speaks just like a real person. It can work 24 hours and doesn't make any mistakes. You might see it on TV soon.
Popular AI artist
This beautiful painting was at an auction (拍卖) in 2020. The painting is worth about 3,000,000 yuan! But it is not a work by a famous painter, such as Vincent van Gogh. It was painted by an AI artist. Three Frenchmen created the AI artist. It studied over 15,000 paintings. In this way, it learned to paint.
Alex Davani is mostly an A-student at Don Juan Avila Middle School, but he was not good at math last year. To get better grades in math, Davani learned to solve the Rubik's Cube.
Davani wasn't the only one. Teacher Ron McDevitt gave all his students a chance of getting a high grade if they could beat the cube, and he gave more scores for faster times. "A Rubik's Cube is a lot like math," explained McDevitt. "If you make one bad move with the cube, you have to go back a step or start over. At math, it's the same way. It forces you to go slowly and be patient."
For Davani, solving the cube was great fun. With about six months of practice, he could solve the Rubik's Cube in under 30 seconds. So Davani decided to enter a world competition in Las Vegas. Davani is placed in the middle among about 800 competitors, and with more practice, he hopes to raise his position next year. He also got to meet cubers from 37 countries, and had lunch with four of the best cubers.
So how does Davani solve the cube so quickly? "It's mostly just practice" he said. "You will form muscle memory after lots of practice. You memorize the method and you don't even have to think about it. Your fingers move naturally."
"I teach my kids how to solve it and they can vanquish me now," said McDevitt whose best record is around two minutes, much longer than many of his students. "I've never had a student take it as far as Davani and compete. That's pretty cool."
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot "greener" toward the environment." We didn't know at that time that there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it," says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement. Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grassroots Americans are taking part in the movement." The understanding has increased many, many times, " says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports, emissions (排放) from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 million tons. The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9.Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place. A kind of "green thinking" has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs; today in 1995 there are about 6, 600.Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.
Twentyfive years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it's hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program." Until we do that, nothing else will change!" says Bruce Anderson.
Can robots be creative? British art gallery owner Aidan Meller thinks so. He hopes to begin answering this question with a robot called Ai-Da. Meller is overseeing the building of all her parts by engineers at Engineered Arts, a company based in Cornwall, England. The engineers believe the robot will be able to draw pictures of people in sight with a writing instrument in her hand. Meller wants the robot to perform like a human artist.
He spoke to the Reuters News Agency after seeing Ai-Da's head being carefully brought to life by specialists who were connecting individual hairs to form eyebrows. He said, "She's going to actually be drawing and we're hoping to then build technology for her to paint." "But also as a performing artist, she'll be able to engage with audiences and actually get messages across, asking those questions about technology today," he added.
Ai-Da's skeletal robotic head may still be separate from her body, but her movements are very alive. Cameras in each of her eyeballs recognize human body parts. Ai-Da will make eye contact and follow you around the room, opening and closing her mouth as you do. If you get too close, the robot will back away, closing and then opening her eyes as if in shock.
The specialists are using the company's Mesmer lifelike robot technology to create her head. Once finished, Ai-Da will have a mixed-race appearance, with long dark hairs and rubber-like skin made from silicone. The teeth and skin inside her mouth will come from a 3D printer. Marcus Hold, working at Engineered Arts, said, "Mesmer brings together the development of software mechanics and electronics to produce a lifelike face with lifelike gestures in a small human-sized package."
Ai-D- will make her first public appearance at an exhibit called "Unsecured Futures" at the University of Oxford. Some of her pictures are expected to appear at another show in London later.
If you travel, you will leave a carbon footprint in your walk. You can't help it. But eco-friendly travel practices can lighten the harm on Mother Earth. Green travel is not a passing trend but a lifestyle choice. .
Choosing a green destination
. However, some countries and cities show a deep commitment to Earth-friendly policies and practices. When researching a vacation spot, look for places that naturally embrace the green lifestyle.
Choosing green transportation
What makes Mother Earth proud? Seeing you use your own power to get around. Many adventure tour operators arrange cycling, hiking and walking holidays. Next rides are trains and buses. . For example, Switzerland is taking the lead with its hybrid buses trains powered by hydroelectricity (水力发电); Japan is running close behind.
Choosing a green hotel
When you arrive, if you can get the hotel right, you can make the greatest impact. . You can search for hotels approved by respected certification programmes, such as Green Key and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
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The Earth-friendly choices are numerous: You can sail, bike, kayak, swim, bird-watch and play I-spy-a-monkey in a tree. Visit a local food market, and don't forget to bring a reusable bag for purchases. You can also lend a hand during your holiday. The green movement has changed from how to preserve and protect to how to use less and do good when you're there.
A. Choosing green travel
B. Choosing green activities
C. The greenest rides typically run on electric power.
D. No destination is a Green Giant.
E. Look for a fact sheet online, or call the front desk
F. If you plan to drive, consider a fuel-efficient vehicle
G. Follow the tips and watch your footprints turn greener
During my first three years of college, I put on about 30 pounds of weight. Between classwork and a part-time job, I had zero time for1. On top of that, I ate a lot of fast food. Not surprisingly, I 2 a fat stomach.
After leaving college, I 3 to take exercise. Invited by a friend, I 4 working out with exercise machines three times a week. I was the kind of person who did not try something 5. I ate the same food; I did the same things. Clearly, I 6my routines (习惯). My friend, however, became 7. One day, he said, "We're not getting enough exercise. We should play tennis instead."
Me? Play tennis? No way. I was strongly against his 8. I was not good at sports. Besides, I was 9 the exercise machines. 10, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court (球场). As I held my racket (球拍), I felt 11. I gave my friend some looks that could kill. I ran after every ball he served to me, completely 12 about 90% of them, and hitting the rest into the other court. The first few months were quite 13. But one day, as the ball came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in the place where it is most effective to hit a ball. I watched in 14 as my return landed where I had aimed (瞄准) it. I had finally 15 how to play tennis properly!
The company Larry Belmont worked had begun experimenting a household robot named Tony. It was going to be tested out by Larry's wife, Claire.
The first time Claire saw Tony, she felt (alarm) as he looked more like a human than machine. When Tony offered to help her dress, Clair was embarrassed. (gradual) Claire began to admire his (wise) and integrity.
Tony helped Claire make herself more beautiful and her home more elegant. Besides, he changed a saleswoman's attitude towards Claire. One day, when Claire worked on a light (suspend) from the ceiling, she accidentally fell off the ladder. Even though Tony had been in the next room, he managed (catch) her in time. As he held her, she felt the warmth of his body.
On the night of the party, before the guests came, Claire dismissed Tony. At that moment, Tony took her in his arms, (bring) his face close to hers. She heard him declare that he did not want to leave her, and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. Then the front door bell (ring).
第一段：1）问候。 2）我很遗憾听说你在交朋友方面有困难。 3）我写信给你一些建议。
第二段：1）我非常理解你的苦恼(depression)。 2）以下是我的一些建议：
①你应该向别人展示你的友好(friendship), 例如，与人交流时，你要面带微笑。
②你应该经常关心同学，帮助同学。学会倾听也很重要。
③积极参加活动，展示自己，这样别人乐于和你相处。
第三段：1）希望我的建议将会帮助你。 2）期待你的回复。
注意：1.词数80左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
During this past year, I've had a car trouble. When it happened, I was sick of the way most people hadn't bothered to help. At that time, I was on the side of the road for close to three hours with my big Jeep. I put signs in the windows, big signs that said NEED A JACK (千斤顶), and offered money. Nothing. Right as I was about to give up, a Mexican family in a small truck pulled over, and the father bounded out.
He saw the situation and called for his daughter, who spoke English. He conveyed through her that he had a jack but that it was too small for the Jeep, so we would need something to support it. Then he got a saw (锯子) from the truck and cut a section out of a big log(木头) on the side of the road. We rolled it over and put his jack on top, and we were in business.
I started taking the wheel off, and then, if you can believe it, I broke his tire iron. No worries: He handed it to his wife, and she was gone in a flash down the road to buy a new tire iron. She was back in 15 minutes. We finished the job, and I was a very happy man.
The two of us were dirty and sweaty. His wife prepared a pot of water for us to wash our hands. I tried to put a $20 bill in the man's hand, but he wouldn't take it, so instead I went up to the truck and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I asked the little girl where they lived. Mexico, she said. They were in Oregon so Mommy and Daddy could work on a fruit farm for the next few weeks. Then they would go home.
注意：1）续写词数应为150左右；2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: When I was about to say goodbye, the girl asked if I'd had lunch.
Paragraph 2: After they left, I got into my Jeep and opened the paper bag.
