once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. delivery B. alternative C. enormously D. floating E. analyzed F. process G. determine H. visible I. messy J. disturbingly K. patterns
Everyone knows that the Internet has changed how business operate, governments function and people live. However, a new, less 41 technological trend is just as transformative: ―big data.‖ Big data starts with the fact that there is a lot more information 42 around these days than ever before and it is
being put to extraordinary new uses.
Consider language translation, for example. When IBM first started to work on machine translation in the 1990s, it just fed a small number of high-quality translation into a computer and programmed it to infer which word in one language is the best 43 for another. Although this 44 revolutionized the task of translation, the result was far from being perfect. Then, in 2006, Google burst in. Instead of millions of pages of texts, the search giant 45 billions, from corporate websites to documents in every language from the European Union. The result is that its translations are much better than IBM’s were and it covers 65 languages. Large amounts of 46 data defeated small amounts of cleaner data.
Another good example of how big data can be 47 helpful is online shopping. Using data collected from customer shopping habits, today, Amazon can 48 who is most likely to purchase what and when. Details such as your history and wish list help the company gain a glimpse (一瞥) into your interests. Goods will then be dispatched to a logistics center(物流中心) near you and get packed before you even order, meaning that when you do make an online purchase, same-day 49 would be possible.
With big data, instead of trying to understand exactly why an engine breaks down or why a drug’s side effect disappears, researchers can instead collect and analyze massive quantities of information about such events and everything that is associated with them, looking for 50 that might help predict future occurrences.
Big data answers not why but what. Finally, it will mark the moment when the ―information society‖ finally fulfills the promise implied by its name.
III. Reading Comprehension Section A
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Are we too slow to praise and quick to blame? It seems we are.
Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it. And yet, we are somehow 51 to give our fellows the warm sunshine of praise. To make matters worse, most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of 52 .
It’s strange how chary(吝啬的) we are about praising. Perhaps it’s because few of us know how to
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accept compliments gracefully. 53 , we are embarrassed and shrug off(不予理睬) the words we are really so glad to hear. Because of this 54 reaction, direct compliments are surprisingly difficult to give. That is why some of the most valued pats on the back are those which come to us 55 , in a letter or passed on by a friend. When one thinks of the speed with which spiteful(恶意的) remarks are conveyed, it seems a pity that there isn’t more effort to pass 56 comments.
It’s especially rewarding to give praise in areas where effort generally goes unnoticed or 57 . An artist gets complimented for a glorious picture, a cook for a perfect meal. But do you ever tell your 58 manager how pleased you are when the shirts are done just right?
Praise is particularly appreciated by those doing 59 jobs: gas-station attendants, waitresses － even housewives. Do you ever go into a house and say, ―What a tidy room‖? Hardly anybody does. Shakespeare said, ―Our praises are our wages.‖ Since so often praise is the only 60 a housewife receives, surely she of all people should get her measure.
Teachers agree about the value of praise. One teacher writes that instead of drowning students’ compositions in critical red ink, the teacher will get far more 61 results by finding one or two things which have been done better than last time, and commenting 62 on them. ―I believe that a student knows when he has handed in something above his usual standard,‖ writes the teacher, ―and that he waits hungrily for a brief comment in the margin(空白处) to show him that the teacher is aware of it, too.‖ To give praise 63 the giver nothing but a moment's thought and a moment’s effort. It is such a small 64 . And yet consider the results it may produce. ―I can live for two months on a good compliment,‖ said Mark Twain. So, let’s be 65 to the small excellences around us — and comment on them. We will not only bring joy into other people’s lives, but also, very often, add happiness into our own.
51. A. guilty B. impatient C. fortunate D. reluctant 52. A. charity B. criticism C. chemical D. command 53. A. Instead B. Therefore C. Moreover D. Otherwise 54. A. extreme B. immediate C. defensive D. positive 55. A. naturally B. indirectly C. similarly D. closely 56. A. pleasing B. unfair C. interesting D. objective 57. A. unchanged B. unmatched C. unmentioned D. unemployed 58. A. hotel B. personnel C. sales D. laundry 59. A. ideal B. routine C. demanding D. steady 60. A. wage B. chance C. input D. support 61. A. inevitable B. constructive C. disappointing D. concrete 62. A. frequently B. occasionally C. critically D. favorably 63. A. highlights B. provides C. costs D. signals 64. A. achievement B. challenge C. investment D. substitute 65. A. certain B. alert C. resistant D. superior
Section B
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished
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statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Dad,
I’m writing to you as I feel it’s been quite a while since we last spoke (two years to be exact, you hung up on me). So how is Germany? How old are your other children now? What have you been up to this year? I finished my A-levels this summer. But enough small talk. On our European road trip in the summer, the journey took us close to your house and I asked Mum and my stepdad if we could pay a visit so that I could see you. Outside your house, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car and knock on the door.
I’ve tried so many different forms of communication － email, the phone and I also suggested Skype. Yet I still can’t get through to you.
My mum, stepdad and I sat around the table trying to work out why I had felt unable to knock on your door that day. At last it came to me. I think, perhaps subconsciously, I was saving myself the grief of your response.
Why can’t your parental obligations stretch to all three of your children, not just your two recent ones? In our previous conversations, which ended suddenly, as your older son needed to be put to bed, I’d ask you how he was doing at school, and you’d talk about the weather. No one listening would be able to tell there was any difference between our relationship and one you might have with a neighbour.
Forget your excuses – that the flight to visit me is expensive and that you need to look after your other children (I hope you can see the irony(讽刺) in that). While you watch their school plays, don’t you consider that I would have liked you to be there at mine?
Perhaps the reason I didn’t knock on your door was that I just don’t care anymore. I’m exhausted trying to make this work. Maybe a part of me wasn’t actually bothered whether I saw you or not that day — you’ve already lost so much meaning in my life; you are someone who just sends me a birthday card.
This isn’t me being bitter, although I was initially. It’s just a way of telling you how I really feel.
Phoebe
66. How did Phoebe feel when she was sitting in the car outside her father’s house?
A. Excited B. Puzzled C. Disappointed D. Embarrassed 67. Based on this letter, we can learn that Phoebe’s father _____________. A. lives in the same city with his daughter
B. got divorced and left Phoebe and her mother C. has never had any communication with Phoebe D. takes good care of all his children
68. What does the ―irony‖ refer to in Paragraph 5?
A. He ended his conversation with Phoebe just to put his son to bed. B. He lives in a big house but has no money to buy an air ticket. C. He talked with Phoebe, his daughter, as if with a neighbour.
D. Phoebe is also his child but he excuses himself from caring about her.
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69. Phoebe didn’t knock on her father’s door that day because _____________. A. she was afraid of his dad’s unexpected responses to her visit
B. she didn’t want to bother her father’s happy life with his current family C. she was tired of being the one who make efforts for their relationship D. she suddenly realized that her father had no meaning in her life
(B)
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind At age 14, in poverty and hunger, a Malawian boy built a windmill to power his family's home. Now at 22, William Kamkwamba, who speaks at TED for the second time, shares in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.
Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames — but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like \to help other kids become developers. Amy O'Toole, Beau Lotto: Science is for everyone, kids included What do science and play have in common? Scientist Beau Lotto thinks all people (kids included) should participate in science and, through the process of discovery, change understanding. He's supported by 12-year-old Amy O'Toole, who, along with 25 of her classmates, published the first peer-reviewed article by schoolchildren. It starts: \Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose, Naomi Shah： Award-winning teenage science in action In 2011 three young women swept the top prizes of the first Google Science Fair. Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose and Naomi Shah describe their extraordinary projects — and their route to a passion for science. 70. The underlined word ―harnessed‖ probably means __________.
A. used B. stopped C. chased 71. According to the passage, Thomas Suarez ___________.
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D. produced
