Text 1
The struggle against malnutrition and
hunger is as old as man himself, and never across the face of our planet has
outcome been more in doubt. Malnutrition caused much suffering to an estimated
400 million to 1.5 billion of the world’s poor. Even in the wealthy US poverty
means undernourishment for an estimated ten to twenty million. Hardest hit are
children, whose growing bodies demand two and a half times more protein, pound
for pound, than those of adults. Nutrition experts estimate that 70 percent of
the children in low-income countries are affected. Badly shaped bodies tell the tragic story of malnutrition. Medical science identifies two major types of malnutrition which usually occur in combination. The first, kwashiorkor (恶性营养不良), is typified by the bloated look. The opposite of what we associate with starvation. Accumulated fluids pushing against wasted muscles account for the plumpness of hands, feet, belly, and face. Lean shoulders reveal striking thinness. Caused by an acute lack of protein kwashiorkor can bring brain damage, anemia, diarrhea, irritability, apathy, and loss of appetite. On the other hand, stick limbs, a bloated belly, wide eyes, and the stretched skin face of an old person mark victims of marasmus, a word taken from the Greek "to waste away". Lacking calories as well as protein, sufferers may weigh only half as much as normal. With fat gone, the skin hangs in wrinkles or draws tight over bones. With marasmus comes anemia, diarrhea, dehydration, and a very hungry appetite. Children, whose growing bodies require large amounts of protein, have to suffer in greatest numbers, but perhaps only three percent of all child victims suffer the extreme stages described. Scientists are doing best to develop new weapons against malnutrition and starvation. But two thirds of the human population of 3.9 billion live in the poorest countries which also have the highest birth rates. Thus, of the 74 million people added to the population each year, four out of five will be born in a country unable to supply its people’s nutritional needs. |
A.but the problem is not as serious now as before
B.and the problem is as serious now as at any time before
C.but the future looks quite promising
D.but the problem is likely to become less serious
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For years there have been endless
articles stating that scientists are on the verge of achieving artificial
intelligence, that it is just around the corner. The truth is that it may be
just around the corner, but they haven’t yet found the right clock. Artificial intelligence aims to build machines that can think. One immediate problem is to define thought, which is harder than you might think. The specialists in the field of artificial intelligence complain, with some justification, that anything that their machines do is dismissed as not being thought. For example, computers can now play very, very good chess. They can’t beat the greatest players in the world, but they can beat just about anybody else. If a human being played chess at this level, he or she would certainly be considered smart. Why not a machine The answer is that the machine doesn’t do anything clever in playing chess. It uses its blinding speed to do a brute-force search of all possible moves for several moves ahead, evaluates the outcomes and picks the best. Humans don’t play chess that way. They see patterns, which computers don’t. This wooden approach to thought characterizes machine intelligence. Computers have no judgment, no flexibility, no common sense. So-called expert systems, one of the hottest areas in artificial intelligence, aim to mimic the reasoning processes of human experts in a limited field, such as medical diagnosis or weather forecasting. There may be limited commercial applications for this sort of thing, but there is no way to make a machine think about anything under the sun, which a teenager can do. The hallmark of artificial intelligence to date is that if a problem is severely restricted, a machine can achieve limited success. But when the problem is expanded to a realistic one, computers fall flat on their display screens. For example, machines can understand a few words spoken individually by a speaker that they have been trained to hear. They cannot understand continuous speech using an unlimited vocabulary spoken by just any speaker. |
A.thinks that scientists are about to achieve artificial intelligence
B.doubts whether scientists can ever achieve artificial intelligence
C.does not think that scientists have found real artificial intelligence
D.is sure that scientists have achieved artificial intelligence
A.functioning properly
B.two tons
C.totally out of control
D.going to hit the Atlantic Ocean
An elderly carpenter was ready to
retire. He told his employer of his plans to (26) the
house-building business to live a more (27) life with his
wife and enjoy his (28) family. He would miss the paycheck
(工资) each week, but he wanted to retire. They could (29) The
employer was (30) to see his good worker go and asked if he
could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes,
(31) over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his
work. He used bad workmanship and (32) materials. It was an
unfortunate way to (33) a dedicated (献身的) career. When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to (34) the house. Then he handed the front-door (35) to the carpenter and said, "This is your house—my (36) to you." The carpenter was shocked! What a (37) !If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. (38) it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting (39) than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we (40) we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it (41) , we would do it much differently. But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone (42) said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your (43) ,and the choices you (44) today, help build the "house" you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build (45) ! |
A.continue
B.start
C.leave
D.find
A.Because they have a driving license.
B.Because they have received special training.
C.Because the traffic system of the city is not very complex.
D.Because the traffic conditions in London are good.
A.At the airport.
B.In the classroom.
C.In a restaurant.
D.On the street.
A.Give his ankle a rest.
B.Go to a doctor.
C.Be careful when walking.
D.Continue his regular activity.
Part A
You will hear 10 short dialogues. For each dialogue, there is one question and four possible answers. Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D, and mark it in your test booklet. You will have 15 seconds to answer the question and you will hear each dialogue ONLY ONCE.
A.He is disappointed.
B.He is happy.
C.He feels so-so.
D.He does not care.
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