1、?18?Section I Use of English Directions:Read the following text.Choose the best word(s)for each numbered blank and mark A,B,C or D on the ANSWER SHEET.(10 points)Trust is a tricky business.On the one hand,its a necessary condition _1_ many worthwhile things:child care,friendships,etc.On the other ha
2、nd,putting your 2 in the wrong place often carries a high 3 4 why do we trust at all?Well,because it feels good.-=5-people place their trust in an individual or an institution,their brains release oxytocin,a hormone that 6 pleasurable feelings and triggers the herding instinct that prompts humans to
3、-7-with one another.Scientists have found that exposure 8 this-=-hormone puts us in a trusting 9:fu a Swiss study,researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of half the subjects;those subjects were ready to lend significantly higher amounts of money to strangers than were their 10 who inhaled somet
4、hing else.11 for us,we also have a sixth sense for dishonesty that may 12 us.A Canadian study found that children as young as 14 months can differentiate-=-1=-3-a credible person and a dishonest one.Sixty toddlers were each 14 to an adult tester holding a plastic container.The tester would ask,Whats
5、 in here?before looking into the container,smiling,and exclaiming,Wow!Each subject was then invited to look 15.Half of them found a toy;the other half _ l-6 _ the container was empty-and realized the tester had 17 them.Among the children who had not been tricked,the majority were 18 to cooperate wit
6、h the tester in learning a new skill,demonstrating that they trusted his leadership.19,only five of the 30 children paired with the 20 tester participated in a follow-up activity.1.(-3-14 yf)1.AJ onBJ like CJ for DJ from 2.AJ faithBJ concern CJ attention DJ interest 3.AJ benefitB debtCJ hope D price
7、4.A J ThereforeBJ Then CJ Instead DJ Again 5.AJ UntilB Unless C AlthoughD When6.AJ selectsB producesC appliesD maintains7.AJ consultBJ compete CJ connect DJ compare 8.AJ atB byCJ of D to9.AJ contextB moodCJ period D circle10.AJ counterparts BJ substitutesCJ colleagues DJ supporters 11.AJ Funny B Luc
8、kyCJ Odd D Ironic12.AJ monitorBJ protect CJ surprise DJ delight 13.AJ betweenB withinCJ toward D over14.AJ transferredBJ added CJ introduced DJ entrusted 15.AJ outB backCJ around D inside16.AJ discoveredB provedC insistedD remembered17.AJ betrayedBJ wronged CJ fooled D mocked18.AJ forcedBJ willing C
9、 hesitantD entitled19.AJ In contrastB As a resultCJ On the whole D For instance20.AJ inflexibleBJ incapable CJ unreliable DJ unsuitable Section II Reading Comprehension Part A Directions:Read the following four texts.Answer the questions after each text by choosing A,B,C or D.Mark your answers on th
10、e ANSWER SHEET.(40 points).2.(-3-14 yf)Text 1 Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign:What happens when the robots come for their jobs?Dont dismiss that possibility entirely.About half of U.S.jobs are at high ri
11、sk of being automated,according to a University of Oxford study,with the middle class disproportionately squeezed.Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care dont appeal to robots.But many middle-class occupations-trucking,financial advice,software engineering-have aroused their interest,or soon wi
12、ll.The rich own the robots,so they will be fine.This isnt to be alarmist.Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past.The Industrial Revolution didnt go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms,but it eventually raised living standards a
13、nd created more jobs than it destroyed.Likewise,automation should eventually boost productivity,stimulate demand by driving down prices,and free workers from hard,boring work.But in the medium term,middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.The first step,as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew M
14、cAfee argue in The Second Machine Age,should be rethinking education and job training.Curriculums-from grammar school to college-should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication.Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving ski
15、lls and helping students work alongside robots.Online education can supplement the traditional kind.It could make extra training and instruction affordable.Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.The challenge of coping with automation underlines the
16、need for the U.S.to revive its fading business dynamism:Starting new companies must be made easier.In previous eras of drastic technological change,entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines.The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality havent been inv
17、ented yet.The U.S.needs the new companies that will invent them.Finally,because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income,taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought.Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut,and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax cre
18、dit should be expanded:This would boost incomes,encourage work,reward companies for job creation,and reduce inequality.Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years,yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation.Destroy
19、ing the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts.But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.3.(-3-14 yf)21.Who will be most threatened by automation?A J Leading politicians.BJ Low-wage laborers.CJ Robot owners.DJ Middle-class workers.22.Which of the following best represents
20、 the authors view?AJ Worries about automation are in fact groundless.BJ Optimists opinions on new tech find little support.CJ Issues arising from automation need to be tackled.DJ Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided.23.Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on A J cr
21、eative potential.BJ job-hunting skills.CJ individual needs.DJ cooperative spirit.24.The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at A J encouraging the development of automation.BJ increasing the return on capital investment.CJ easing the hostility between rich and poor.DJ preventing the income ga
22、p from widening.25.In this text,the author presents a problem with A J opposing views on it.BJ possible solutions to it.CJ its alarming impacts.DJ its major variations.4.(-3-14 yf)Text2 A new survey by Harvard University finds more than two-thirds of young Americans disapprove of President Trumps us
23、e of Twitter.The implication is that Millennials prefer news from the White House to be filtered through other sources,not a presidents social media platform.Most Americans rely on social media to check daily headlines.Yet as distrust has risen toward all media,people may be starting to beef up thei
24、r media literacy skills.Such a trend is badly needed.During the 2016 presidential campaign,nearly a quarter of web content shared by Twitter users in the politically critical state of Michigan was fake news,according to the University of Oxford.And a survey conducted for BuzzFeed News found 44 perce
25、nt of Facebook users rarely or never trust news from the media giant.Young people who are digital natives are indeed becoming more skillful at separating fact from fiction in cyberspace.A Knight Foundation focus-group survey of young people between ages 14 and 24 found they use distributed trust to
26、verify stories.They cross-check sources and prefer news from different perspectives-especially those that are open about any bias.Many young people assume a great deal of personal responsibility for educating themselves and actively seeking out opposing viewpoints,the survey concluded.Such active re
27、search can have another effect.A 2014 survey conducted in Australia,Britain,and the United States by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that young peoples reliance on social media led to greater political engagement.Social media allows users to experience news events more intimately and immed
28、iately while also permitting them to re-share news as a projection of their values and interests.This forces users to be more conscious of their role in passing along information.A survey by Barna research group found the top reason given by Americans for the fake news phenomenon is reader error,mor
29、e so than made-up stories or factual mistakes in reporting.About a third say the problem of fake news lies in misinterpretation or exaggeration of actual news via social media.In other words,the choice to share news on social media may be the heart of the issue.This indicates there is a real persona
30、l responsibility in counteracting this problem,says Roxanne Stone,editor in chief at Barna Group.So when young people are critical of an over-tweeting president,they reveal a mental discipline in thinking skills-and in their choices on when to share on social media.5.(-3-14 yf)26.According to Paragr
31、aphs 1 and 2,many young Americans cast doubts onAJ the justification of the news-filtering practice.BJ peoples preference for social media platforms.CJ the administrations ability to handle information.DJ social media as a reliable source of news.27.The phrase beef up(Line 2,Para.2)is closest in mea
32、ning to A J sharpen.BJ define.CJ boast.DJ share.28.According to the Knight Foundation survey,young people A J tend to voice their opinions in cyberspace.BJ verify news by referring to diverse sources.CJ have a strong sense of responsibility.DJ like to exchange views on distributed trust.29.The Barna
33、 survey found that a main cause for the fake news problem is A J readers outdated values.BJ journalists biased reporting.CJ readers misinterpretation.DJ journalists made-up stories.30.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?AJ A Rise in Critical Skills for Sharing News Online.BJ
34、A Counteraction Against the Over-tweeting Trend.CJ The Accumulation of Mutual Trust on Social Media.DJ The Platforms for Projection of Personal Interests.6.(-3-14 yf)Text3 Any fair-minded assessment of the dangers of the deal between Britains National Health Service(NHS)and DeepMind must start by ac
35、knowledging that both sides mean well.DeepMind is one of the leading artificial intelligence(AI)companies in the world.The potential of this work applied to healthcare is very great,but it could also lead to further concentration of power in the tech giants.It is against that background that the inf
36、ormation commissioner,Elizabeth Denham,has issued her damning verdict against the Royal Free hospital trust under the NHS,which handed over to DeepMind the records of 1.6 million patients in 2015 on the basis of a vague agreement which took far too little account of the patients rights and their exp
37、ectations of privacy.DeepMind has almost apologized.The NHS trust has mended its ways.Further arrangements-and there may be many-between the NHS and DeepMind will be carefully scrutinised to ensure that all necessary permissions have been asked of patients and all unnecessary data has been cleaned.T
38、here are lessons about informed patient consent to learn.But privacy is not the only angle in this case and not even the most important.Ms Denham chose to concentrate the blame on the NHS trust,since under existing law it controlled the data and DeepMind merely processed it.But this distinction miss
39、es the point that it is processing and aggregation,not the mere possession of bits,that gives the data value.The great question is who should benefit from the analysis of all the data that our lives now generate.Privacy law builds on the concept of damage to an individual from identifiable knowledge
40、 about them.That misses the way the surveillance economy works.The data of an individual there gains its value only when it is compared with the data of countless millions more.The use of privacy law to curb the tech giants in this instance feels slightly maladapted.This practice does not address th
41、e real worry.It is not enough to say that the algorithms DeepMind develops will benefit patients and save lives.What matters is that they will belong to a private monopoly which developed them using public resources.If software promises to save lives on the scale that drugs now can,big data may be e
42、xpected to behave as a big pharma has done.We are still at the beginning of this revolution and small choices now may tum out to have gigantic consequences later.A long struggle will be needed to avoid a future of digital feudalism.Ms Denhams report is a welcome start.7.(-3-14 yf)31.What is true of
43、the agreement between the NHS and DeepMind?A J It caused conflicts among tech giants.BJ It failed to pay due attention to patients rights.CJ It fell short of the latters expectations.DJ It put both sides into a dangerous situation.32.The NHS trust responded to Denhams verdict with A J empty promises
44、.BJ tough resistance.CJ necessary adjustments.DJ sincere apologies.33.The author argues in Paragraph 2 that A J privacy protection must be secured at all costs.BJ leaking patients data is worse than selling it.CJ making profits from patients data is illegal.DJ the value of data comes from the proces
45、sing of it.34.According to the last paragraph,the real worry arising from this deal is A J the vicious rivalry among big pharmas.BJ the ineffective enforcement of privacy law.CJ the uncontrolled use of new software.DJ the monopoly of big data by tech giants.35.The authors attitude toward the applica
46、tion of AI to healthcare is A J ambiguous.BJ cautious.CJ appreciative.DJ contemptuous.8.(-3-14 yf)Text4 The U.S.Postal Service(USPS)continues to bleed red ink.It reported a net loss of$5.6 billion for fiscal 2016,the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue.Meanwhile,it has more than$12
47、0 billion in unfunded liabilities,mostly for employee health and retirement costs.There are many reasons this formerly stable federal institution finds itself at the brink of bankruptcy.Fundamentally,the USPS is in a historic squeeze between technological change that has permanently decreased demand
48、 for its bread-and-butter product,first-class mail,and a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility to adjust its operations to the new reality.And interest groups ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers exert self-interested pressure on the USPS s ultimate overseer-Congr
49、ess-insisting that whatever else happens to the Postal Service,aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected.This is why repeated attempts at reform legislation have failed in recent years,leaving the Postal Service unable to pay its bills except by deferring vital modernization.Now comes w
50、ord that everyone involved-Democrats,Republicans,the Postal Service,the unions and the systems heaviest users-has finally agreed on a plan to fix the system.Legislation is moving through the House that would save USPS an estimated$28.6 billion over five years,which could help pay for new vehicles,am