出自:2023年初级学期期末统一考试英语机考
Is teaching important? Well, of course it is.There was a time when the necessary knowledge could be taught to the young by family members. But as societies became more complex and division of labor more diverse, it was impossible for family members to teach the information and skills that young people needed to become useful members of the society. When the society needed specialists, teaching came into being as a career. And it has been of increasing importance during the past hundred years. Today, we have strict rules for teachers. We hope all children can go to schools. It is generally agreed that teaching is indeed an “important” job. In recent years, there has been an increasing need for teachers to be “responsible”. This means that the public expects teachers to succeed in teaching important information to the young. Teachers’ salaries today, while not that much, are much higher than they were in years past. Pay increases have come about because people have realized that without decent salaries, less talented people will get involved with teaching profession. Hence higher salaries and higher qualifications for the prospective teachers. Today almost no one has that “anybody can do a teacher.s job” in their mind. The public expects “quality people” to teach the young, and progress is being made to offer better benefits and higher salaries to appeal to more talented people to become school teachers.
1-1、Just because societies became more complex, teaching came into being as a career.
A、√
B、×
Education and academic quality can mean different things to different people, depending on their perspective, role and context and, in part because of this, quality is notoriously difficult to evaluate. The question of how to do this has been pursued for many years.Nevertheless, the goal of improving educational quality is agreed by all and stimulated further by the recent worldwide economic downturn and the need to counteract the impact of the crisis on economic growth and prepare for economic recovery. As the World Bank and UNESCO said 10 years ago: “The quality of knowledge generated within higher education institutions, and its availability to the wider economy, is becoming increasingly critical to national competitiveness.” They also rightly emphasized that “A strong research system at the national level opens up the possibility that substantial additional public benefits can be realized through international links.” This is precisely why Chinese students and academics should contribute to these global benefits, reforming and improving evaluation systems for educational and academic quality. Original and good research, especially in science, economics and social sciences, has a trickledown effect on society. And it offers additional benefits even without international links, though international collaboration and exchange of the best evaluation policy and practice can bring substantial advantages to all partners in relation to lessons learned elsewhere.
1-1、Education quality is hard to evaluate.
A、√
B、×
If you think 3D printing is only good for making flimsy paperweights, then you.re pretty much right. However, a group of audacious Dutch architects have already begun 3D printing an entire canal house in Amsterdam.Is the first 3D printed house a gimmick? Definitely! Is it an experiment that pushes the possibilities for 3D printing technology and architecture? Maybe! 3D Print Canal House is the brainchild of DUS Architects. “KamerMaker”, Dutch for “room maker”, is their giant printer built inside a shipping container. Just a few weeks ago, KamerMaker began printing plastic furniture and walls at an empty canal-side lot in northern Amsterdam. Smaller versions of the unusual honeycomb walls have been tested on normal desktop printers, and everyone just needed to scale it up. Well, if only it were that easy. “The printer did not always manage to spread the plastic evenly, making some of the ribs of the honeycomb structure of the block uneven,” reported ARN (Australian Radio Network), to the surprise of no one who has used a 3D printer. But the architects remain optimistic. The first few printed blocks are meant to be test pieces as they improve the process. It takes about a week to print a 3-meter high block right now. The project.s leader hopes to eventually get that down to two hours and finish the first of 12 rooms in a year, and the entire house in less than 3 years. Ultimately, 3D Print Canal House is an architectural research project, one that is very much being conducted in the public eye: you can actually buy tickets to visit the construction site for 2.50 Euros. The top floors will become more ornate, for example, as newer techniques are incorporated. They.ll explore the possibilities of 3D printing, like the honeycomb walls or an entire room recycled, redesigned, and built anew. Nobody.s going to move into a 3D printed house soon, but, if anyone ever does, something might be learned from this experiment by the canal.
1-1、What have the Dutch architects begun to use the 3D printer to do according to the passage?
A、To make heavy paperweights.
B、To print the unusual honeycomb.
C、To print an entire canal house.
D、To build a shipping container.
Baidu, China.s leading search engine company, has unveiled its own eyewear called Baidu Eye. It is said to be a different product from Google Glass in terms of functionality. The company demonstrated a working prototype on September 3 at its annual Technology Innovation Conference in Beijing. It bears a similarity to Google Glass, but it has no screen. Instead, the device uses a camera to scan objects, and focuses on analyzing information around its user and beaming that to a smartphone. Baidu says the device is designed to support image search. The company.s CEO Robin Li believes in five years’ time, people will get used to searching by image and audio rather than text. Li has given an example of how one can take advantage of Baidu Eye, “If you are in a shopping mall and come across a woman whose skirt looks really attractive, you take a photo of her skirt using Baidu Eye, and you.ll get to know where to buy one for yourself.” According to Kaiser Kuo, Baidu.s director of international communications, Baidu Eye can also recognize voice and gesture, “You can use voice commands, or gesture commands—like expanding to zoom, or circling an object in your field of view with your finger.” Baidu is yet to announce a release date or marketing plans for Baidu Eye.
1-1、What is the best title for the passage?
A、Google Glass? Baidu Eye!
B、Google Glass and Baidu Eye.
C、Baidu Eye is different from Google Glass.
D、People can make use of Baidu Eye.