Part III 阅读理解

Passage One

It sounds like something straight out ofascience fiction movie orasilly cartoon: a futuristic traveling tube that can quickly shoot people wherever they want to go, insideatiny pod. But this may be just around the corner for people looking forafaster, easier, and cheaper-than-ever way to travel.

South African-American inventor and billionaire Elon Musk, who, in the past, has worked on both private space flight and electric cars, recently announced he has been working on the design of this traveling tube, which could forever change the way we travel the world. In an interview, Musk described the new tube asafifth kind of transportation.

"We have planes, trains, automobiles, and boats," he explained. "What if there wasafifth mode? I have a name for it. It's called the Hyperloop." "This system Ihave in mind...can never crash, is immune to weather, it goes three or four times faster than the bullet train...it goes at an average speed of twice what an aircraft would do.

You would go from downtown L.A. to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes." People using the Hyperloop would shoot around in pods, which are each just over six-and-a-half feet across, and the pods would travel through tubes located either above round or under water. The Hyperloop could even run 24/7, be cheap, and allow people to travel on their own schedule.

People could show up at the Hyperloop station whenever they want and be quickly sent on their way. Additionally Musk believes the Hyperloop could be completely powered by the sun—making it more environmentally friendly than cars, airplanes, or train systems. Someday it could possibly move people between the East and West Coasts of the United States in less than an hour.

Eventually the Hyperloop would be able to move people around the world. Musk is not the first person outside of science fiction novelists to dream up vacuum tube technology for moving people.The idea has been around for some time, and inventors in other countries, including China, are reportedly working on similar technology.

21. The phrase "just around the corner" (Para. 1) means " ".

    A preferableB forthcomingC reliableD available

22. The "pod" mentioned in the passage is a(n) .

    A tube-shaped music playerB wireless earphoneC engine that providesadriving forceD vehicle that carries passengers

23. Which of the following is NOT true of Elon Musk?

    A He draws insights from science fictions.B He has tried his hand at space flight.C He has manufactured electric cars.D He cares for environmental protection.

24. What can be learned about the Hyperloop?

    A It could be developed atalow cost.B It would remind people of their schedule.C It could operate round the clock.D It would run at regular intervals.

25. China is mentioned in the last paragraph in order to .

    A demonstrate that it is an innovative countryB give an example of those working on similar technologyC showasuccessful model of vacuum tube travelingD indicateapotential for international cooperation

Passage Two

How are you feeling today? I've gotafew aches and pains, but nothing serious. However, when things become more critical, I would normally book myself an appointment with my doctor—although by the time Iget to see him, the problem will have probably gone away. That's because in the UK at least, we usually have to waitafew days before the doctor can fit us in.

Luckily today, technology has come to our rescue. There are thousands of apps available on our smartphones that can offer first aid advice and allow us to self-diagnose our sickness—ranging fromasimple cold or flu to some exotic disease. And together with the Internet, we have an ocean of medical information at our fingertips.

But is too much knowledgeagood thing? By reading up on an illness, we discover its side-effects and what could happen inaworst-case situation. More worrying is that we give ourselves the wrong diagnosis, and then worry ourselves sick that we're going to die. This health anxiety, fueled by the Internet, is called "cyberchondria".

It gives sufferersadeep fear of diseases and, according to experts, it's on the rise. Professor Peter Tyrer from Imperial College London said, "We find that approximately four out of five of our patients with health anxiety spend literally hours on the Internet. One of the first things we do in treatment is to tell them to stop browsing the Internet." A studyafew years ago also found many doctors felt intimidated by the increasing numbers of web-wise patients arriving in surgeries.

One doctor admitted to not being very happy about patients using the Internet, saying: "They all seemed to come to me with things I'd never heard of and very often with things which seem rather bizarre or inappropriate." Of course there is no doubt, the world wide web has most of the information we need to diagnose our symptoms, but Doctor Tyrer points out, "it doesn't have any judgment associated with it." This is why havingaconsultation withadoctor face-to-face still has its benefits.

It would seem then thatavirtual online doctor can prescribeadose of useful advice, but technology hasn't replaced the human medical expert just yet.

26. What does the author try to emphasize in Paragraph 1?

    A The low efficiency of the healthcare system.B The tips for making appointments with doctors.C The treatment for common health problems.D The critical challenges for general hospitals.

27. Cyberchondria ( Para.3) can be defined as .

    A overdependence on the Internet for medical adviceB too much knowledge about health problemsC health concerns caused by online informationD incorrect diagnosis based on web knowledge

28. According to the doctors, cyberchondria .

    A can be preventedB is not unusualC is hard to predictD may not last long

29. How do doctors in general feel about web-wise patients?

    A They are surprised at patients' wise use of online information.B They are frightened by patients' blind trust of Internet information.C They are satisfied with patients' sufficient knowledge about diseases.D They are troubled by patients' excessive search for health information.

30. According to Doctor Tyrer, what is the problem with online medical information?

    A It is usually not sufficient.B It is not always accurate.C It fails to give judgment.D It provides too much information.

Passage Three

Many of the major supermarket chains have come under fire with accusations of various unethical acts over the past decade. They've wasted tons of food. They've underpaid their suppliers and they've contributed to excessive plastic waste in their packaging, which has had its impact on our environment.

But supermarkets and grocers are starting to sit up and take notice. In response to growing consumer resentment against the huge amounts of plastic waste generated by plastic packaging, some of the largest UK supermarkets have signed up toapact promising to transform packaging and cut plastic wastage.

Inapledge to reuse, recycle or convert all plastic wastage by 2025, supermarkets are now beginning to take some responsibility for the part they play in contributing to the damage to our environment, with one major supermarket announcing their plan to eliminate all plastic packaging in their own-brand products by 2023.

In response to criticisms over food waste, some supermarkets are donating some of their food surplus. However, charities estimate that they are only accessing two per cent of supermarkets' total food surplus, so this hardly seems to be solving the problem. Some say that supermarkets are simply not doing enough.

Most supermarkets operate underaveil of secrecy when asked for exact figures of food wastage, and without more transparency it is hard to come up withasystematic approach to avoiding waste and to redistributing surplus food. Some smaller companies are now taking matters into their own hands and offering consumersagreener option.

Shops like Berlin's Original Unverpakt and London's Bulk Market are plastic-free shops that have opened in recent years, encouraging customers to use their own containers or convertible bags. Online grocer Farmdrop eliminates the need for large warehouses and the risk of huge food surplus by delivering fresh produce from local farmers to its customers onadaily basis via electric cars, offering farmers the lion's share of the retail price.

There is no doubt that we still havealong way to go in reducing food waste and plastic waste. But perhaps the major supermarkets might take inspiration from these smaller grocers and gradually move towardsamore sustainable future for us all.

31. Which is NOT mentioned as an unethical act of major supermarket chains?

    A Wasting large amounts of food.B Producing excessive plastic waste.C Underpaying their suppliers.D Selling goods of poor quality.

32. The word "pact" (Para. 2) is closest in meaning to " ".

    A agreementB organizationC campaignD program

33. According to Paragraph 3, supermarkets' donation of their food surplus .

    A receives high praisesB is considered asagood charityC is regarded as not doing enoughD arouses more criticisms

34. Farmdrop is mentioned as an example that provides .

    A plastic-free bags and containersB easier access to fresh produceC a great variety of healthy foodsD goods at more competitive prices

35. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .

    A some businesses are reluctant to reduce their wasteB major supermarkets refuse to do public goodC some small companies better protect the environmentD a more sustainable future for all is soon to come

Passage Four

We all know people who say they have "no sense of direction." Yet for some people that description is true in all circumstances: If they takeasingle wrong turn on an established route they often become totally lost. This happens even when they are justafew miles from where they live.

This condition is called developmental topographic disorientation (DTD), the inability to orient within the environment. It didn't even haveaformal name until 2009, when Giuseppe Iaria reported his first case in the journal Neuropsychologia. Ellen Rose had beenapatient of mine for years before Irealized that she had this life-long learning disability.

Like other people with DTD, she can followaroute in pieces, but it never becomes part ofalarger spatial understanding. That's because she does not have a larger spatial understanding of her environment. I asked her to drawadiagram of the second floor of the house she shares with her daughter and son-in-law.

It wasadifficult task for her (she lives on the first floor but is very familiar with the second). She described her effort not asabird looking down from above, but asaspider crawling across the paper tracingaroute from one room to the next. Ellen has always wondered what was wrong with her.

She knew that when others ascribed her problems to simply not paying attention they were mistaken. She worried that her problems in traveling might beasign of something more serious than just getting lost easily, but Ihad no idea what that might be. Finding out that she had DTD wasarelief.

Knowing that something hasaname can be a liberating experience. All ofasudden it isathing, a concept with defining characteristics. It is, inaway, a kind of map.

36. What is the relation between Ellen and the author?

    A Student and teacherB Subject and researcherC Employee and employerD Patient and doctor

37. It can be learned that people with DTD .

    A are unable to find their position in an environmentB find it difficult to remember where they have beenC dislike traveling toafaraway place on their ownD are characterized by their inability to concentrate

38. From Ellen's difficulty in drawing her own house, we can infer that .

    A observing from high above is more effective than from the bottomB common people tend to perceiveaspace fromabird's eye viewC it is useful to get familiar with our living environmentD people with DTD haveapoor sense of vision

39. How did Ellen feel about her DTD?

    A She hadaclear idea what it was and how to deal with it .B She worried that she might misunderstand people around her.C She thought she could improve her condition by paying more attention.D She was afraid that it might bring problems other than disorientation.

40. The word "map" in the last paragraph probably means " ".

    A cureB designC proposalD clue

Blog and Comments

The biog and comments arc followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet. Face masks are one of the best defenses against the spread of COVID-19, but their growing adoption is havingasecond, unintended effect: breaking facial recognition algorithms (算法).

Wearing face masks that adequately cover the mouth and nose causes the error rate of some of the most widely used facial recognition algorithms to rise to between5percent and 50 percent, a study by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found. Black masks were more likely to cause errors than blue masks, and the more of the nose covered by the mask, the harder the algorithms found it to identify the face.

"We need to understand how face recognition technology deals with masked faces," said the author of the report and NIST computer scientist. "We have begun by focusing on how an algorithm developed before the pandemic (大流行病) might be affected by subjects wearing face masks. Later this summer, we plan to test the accuracy of algorithms that were intentionally developed with masked faces in mind." Facial recognition algorithms such as those tested by NIST work by measuring the distances between features inatarget's face.

Masks reduce the accuracy of these algorithms by removing most of these features, although some still remain. This is slightly different from how facial recognition works on iPhones, for example, which use depth sensors for extra security, ensuring that the algorithms can't be fooled by showing the cameraapicture (a danger that is not present in the scenarios NIST is concerned with).

41. What is the passage mainly about?

    A The best way to defend against COVID-19.B Efforts to improve facial recognition technology.C Methods to fool the facial recognition system.D The impact of masks on facial recognition accuracy.

42. The NIST study found that compared with blue masks, black masks .

    A were more widely used by the publicB caused more errors in facial recognitionC provided better protection against the virusD required less complex algorithms

43. Comment1seems to be .

    A in favor of the rules for wearing face masksB in favor of the facial recognition technologyC against the wide use of facial recognitionD against the requirements for wearing face masks

44. Which comment views the current facial recognition technology with contempt?

    A Comment 2.B Comment 3.C Comment 4.D Comment 5.

45. Which of the following is positive about the future technological advance?

    A Comment2and Comment 3.B Comment1and Comment 4.C Comment3and Comment 5.D Comment4and Comment 5.