We’ve been told for years that self-driving cars are just approaching. But it’s time to accept the truth, said Darrell Etherington on TechCrunch: they “aren’t going to happen” in our lifetimes.
I’ve long been excited about the potential of this technology, but my remaining optimism left me finally last month when Ford and Volkswagen announced they were stopping running Argo Al, their autonomous driving tech joint firm. Argo was considered a leader in the field. But Ford feels that “producing profitable, fully autonomous vehicles on a large scale is a long way off”, and it could no longer stomach the increasing costs. This is just the latest setback.
True, General Motors is making progress in trialling driverless vehicles on the roads, but only on a small scale. Tesla is pushing ahead with its self-driving technology, but its ambitions can be limited by an investigation that is looking into some accidents involving its “Autopilot” system. Some of the firmest believers in self-driving technology have turned nonbelievers. State-of-the-art robot cars still “struggle” with construction sites, road blocks, and sometimes even simple left turns.
I recently took a ride in a self-driving taxi in the city of Chandler, Arizona. There was an undeniable horror-movie aspect to sitting in the back of a vehicle and watching the steering wheel turn autonomously. To my relief, it slowed when other vehicles behaved improperly. I was just about to feel relaxed and text a coworker when the taxi came to a sudden stop at one point. A truck stopped in front of us and wanted to go backwards in order to take a missed turning. Unclear about what to do next, the taxi “chirped(吱吱叫) to call a human specialist to solve the situation”. Fortunately, the truck driver decided to drive on and we continued our way. My driverless experience made me believe this technology may never be possible to make passengers relaxed when they are in a driverless vehicle. Even so, I won’t undervalue the technological advances that have been made—after all, who knows what the future will look like.
1．What can we infer from Darrell Etherington’s words?| A．Self-driving cars will be replaced by other technology. |
| B．Self-driving cars will change our travel mode. |
| C．Self-driving cars are approaching us. |
| D．Self-driving cars are just a dream now. |
| A．Endure. | B．Reduce. | C．Regain. | D．Remove. |
| A．To prove self-driving technology has made big progress. |
| B．To prove self-driving technology has a long way to go. |
| C．To prove self-driving technology is totally impractical. |
| D．To prove self-driving technology has great potential. |
| A．Critical. | B．Conventional. | C．Favorable. | D．Indifferent. |
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Comedy on Referral has taken that idea and run with it, using stand-up comedy to help treat people struggling with trauma (精神创伤) and anxiety in partnership with the National Health Service (NHS).
The idea came from comedian Angie Belcher’s experiences teaching comedy at the University of Bristol. She found that students often told her how much stronger and more resilient (有适应力的) they were thanks to stand-up comedy.
Inspired, she teamed up with the NHS in Bristol to create a six-week comedy course for patients struggling with trauma in January 2022. Following the success of this initial course, Comedy on Referral won NHS funding to help men with trauma in London.
Belcher said, “Past traumas are perfect for comedy. Comedy doesn’t come from the happy, perfect moments of your life, but from our everyday struggles and major life events. People who’ve been through big life experiences such as losing a loved one and ill health often can’t wait to tell me their stories, mostly because there’s always something especially funny about the situation.”
Research has shown that laughter has positive psychological effects, such as decreasing levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and increasing endorphins (the hormone that reduces the feeling of pain). It can even have physiological benefits, although less research has been done in this area. Current research has linked laughter and humour with increased levels of pain tolerance as well as short-term cardiovascular (心血管的) benefits. More research is needed to prove these findings
Nonetheless, the mental health benefits of regular laughter are widely accepted, and using comedy to treat mental health struggles could be a real breakthrough in the treatment of mental health.
1．Why is the phrase mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To explain the harm trauma causes. | B．To stress the importance of laughter. |
| C．To show the effect of stand-up comedy. | D．To state the idea behind Comedy on Referral. |
| A．Effective. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Fruitless. | D．Controversial. |
| A．Struggling moments. | B．Funny moments. |
| C．Successful moments. | D．Boring moments. |
| A．Comedy is one thing that can make you struggle | B．Laughter is useful for people’s mental health |
| C．Anxiety can also make you feel better | D．Laughter will cure you of all diseases |
In searching for ways to help children with learning disabilities, remember that you are looking for ways to help them help themselves. Your job as a parent is not to “cure” the learning disability, but to give your child the social and emotional tools they need to work through challenges. Always remember that the way you behave and respond to challenges has a big influence on your child. A good attitude won’t solve the problems associated with a learning disability. But it can give your child hope and confidence.
Become your own expert. Do your own research and keep up with new developments in learning disability programs and educational techniques.
Be an advocate for your child.
Focus on strengths, not just weaknesses. Your child is not defined by their learning disability. A learning disability represents one area of weakness, but there are many more areas of strengths.
| A．Remember that your influence outweighs all others. |
| B．Attach great importance to your child’s gifts and talents. |
| C．Things like food, water, and shelter are resources. |
| D．Speak up time and time again to get special help for your child. |
| E．Parents should spare some time to keep their children company. |
| F．Tips for dealing with your child’s learning disability are as follows. |
| G．You may seek help from teachers or doctors for solutions, especially at first. |
Every year on my birthday, a white gardenia (栀子花) was
But I never stopped
One month before my high-school graduation, my father died. My feelings
The day before my ball, I found that dress — in the right size — hanging over the living room sofa. It was
My mother died ten days after I was married. The following year the gardenia stopped coming.
1．| A．given | B．delivered | C．taken | D．brought |
| A．useful | B．helpful | C．in vain | D．in hope |
| A．delighted | B．imagined | C．enjoyed | D．satisfied |
| A．considering | B．remembering | C．imagining | D．recalling |
| A．referred | B．led | C．preferred | D．contributed |
| A．appreciation | B．honor | C．kindness | D．respect |
| A．love | B．hate | C．crush | D．look |
| A．ranged | B．differed | C．suffered | D．judged |
| A．ignoring | B．attending | C．abandoning | D．missing |
| A．unsurprised | B．uninterested | C．exhausted | D．pleased |
| A．wrong | B．false | C．proper | D．right |
| A．provided | B．presented | C．introduced | D．awarded |
| A．doubt | B．wonder | C．desire | D．care |
| A．loving | B．loved | C．relaxing | D．relaxed |
| A．trouble | B．confusion | C．boredom | D．sorrow |
A man called, asking if an owl（猫头鹰）could be rescued. Ellen Kalish was happy to help, who runs the Manhattan Wildlife Center in New York. She is used to getting calls about taking in wild animals. The caller told her where this tiny owl was hiding out. It was found inside the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Center, where it is a yearly tradition to decorate trees. But this year, the tree looked a little worse. Many people made fun of its branches. They called the tree a “symbol of 2020”, meaning its sad look reminded them how tough the past year was.
The tale of the owl’s rescue quickly became the highlight of this year’s tree. Before the tree was put up to decorate, one of the workers caught sight of the creature. It was buried in the base of the tree. The owl most likely traveled with the tree on its journey to Manhattan. But there was no proof about where it came from and how it ended up stuck in this tree. Getting the little bird out from the base of the tree, the worker noticed that the creature got badly injured and seemed not to eat or drink anything for a few days. She was too weak to fly, but luckily she was still alive.
In that case, the worker had to bring the owl home. He named her Rocky as he spotted her in the Rockefeller Center. Considering he himself had no idea how to keep an owl, he decided to find a place that rescues wildlife animals. That was why he called the Center. After Kalish got the full story about the bird, she met the man at a gas station. Then the man handed her a box with the owl inside.
Kalish took the box carefully.
Rocky didn’t look that terrible as she was in the box a week before.
Notice
Students’ Union
Different Countries Have Different Kinds of English
Voyages of people from England play
Because of this fact, you can make use of the differences
Self-discipline is the ability to control your behavior in a way that leads you to be more productive and have better habits. Whether you are trying to study for a test, lose weight, or kick a bad habit, self-discipline always plays a part. Wondering how to develop it? Here are some tips for you.
Figuring out what does and does not work for you is key to understanding how to be more self-disciplined. Some people succeed when working around others, while others do better working alone. Some people are motivated by rewards, while others prefer consequences to keep them in line.
Share your goals with someone
Telling your goals to people you respect is directly related to a better chance of achieving them. You can simply let your friends know that you have decided to work on your self-discipline in general, or you can share some of your goals with them.
Start small
Don’t begin your daily work with self-discipline by trying to achieve something huge.
Forgive yourself
| A．Find a partner |
| B．Recognize how you struggle |
| C．Self-discipline requires lots of effort |
| D．Review why and where things went wrong |
| E．The act will help you achieve them more easily |
| F．We are all humans, so perfection isn’t possible |
| G．This will take too much time to keep you on track |
Kids and teenagers who volunteer aren’t just helping their community. They might also be helping themselves. That’s according to a new research published in JAMA Network Open, in May.
Kids who participated in community service were 34% more likely to be in very good physical health than those who didn’t participate, the study found. And those who volunteered were 66% more likely to be considered doing well in general. Kids aged 12 and older who volunteered were 25% less likely to have anxiety than peers who didn’t. The findings come from survey data provided by the parents of some 50,000 kids in the United States aged 6 to 17. About half of those parents reported that their kids did volunteer work.
Studies like this have limitations. Parents answered questions about their kids’ health and community-service activity. But a parent might not know if their child experiences anxiety or considers themselves to be doing well in general. This type of data also can’t prove cause and effect. It can only uncover connections. So it’s not possible to say for sure that volunteering leads to better mental and physical health. It could be that people in good health are more likely to have the energy or desire to volunteer.
But the data comes at an important time for youth mental health. In recent years, rates of depression and anxiety have risen among young people. More than 40% of high school students reported experiencing feelings of sadness or hopelessness. So there’s a clear need for accessible and effective mental health resources. Giving back to the community may be one such resource. And this study isn’t the only one to reach that conclusion. Previous research has also found links between volunteering and well-being among adults. Serving the community seems to help people feel a sense of purpose. And it makes them feel connected to those around them. Generosity has also been shown to boost happiness and improve physical health. It might be a practice worth doing.
1．How many kids in the US who volunteered were less likely to be anxious?| A．12,500. | B．17,000. | C．33,000. | D．50,000. |
| A．Healthy people are less likely to volunteer. |
| B．Volunteering surely leads to better mental and physical health. |
| C．Parents know their kids’ mental and physical health very well. |
| D．There is a relationship between health and community-service activity. |
| A．There are various mental health resources. |
| B．People of all ages will serve the community. |
| C．Serving the community will benefit mental health. |
| D．High school students are suffering mental health problems. |
| A．He laughs best who laughs last. |
| B．The rose is in her hand, the flavor in mine. |
| C．The longest journey begins with the first step. |
| D．Treat other people as you hope they will treat you. |
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’re talking to someone but they keep looking at their phone? This is called “phubbing” — a mix of the words “phone” and “snubbing”, which is the act of ignoring someone in favor of the phone. It can happen in any conversation — whether it’s with a friend, family member, or even a business associate. When someone is “phubbing”, they’re using their phone to look through the online news, check messages, play games and so on, instead of focusing on the conversation or spending time with the people they’re with.
The word was first used back in 2012, when fewer people had smartphones. And now that most people have smartphones, phubbing is a common problem. Most people would agree that it’s rude to be focused on your phone when you’re spending time with another person. The expert William Hanson thinks so, too. “Phubbing is a no-no!” he says. “If you have planned to go out with friends, focus on them and not your friends on your phone.” Studies have found that phubbing can damage your relationships with others. Eye contact is super important in bonding and developing oxytocin, the chemical that builds trust and connection. A lack of eye contact due to phubbing can make people feel like you don’t care about them or value their time.
Phubbing can make people feel disregarded, and those who “phub” are thought of as less polite and caring. So science has shown that phubbing is not good for us — but why do we do it? It might be because we are feeling bored, worried or stressed. Or it might be because we are addicted to checking our phones, especially social media. Whatever the reason may be, phubbing is a bad habit and can make us miss out on real moments with the people around us. So the next time you’re spending time with a friend or family member, try and keep your phone out of sight!
1．What can we learn from the passage?| A．Phubbing dates from 2012. |
| B．Phubbing means using phone when necessary. |
| C．Phubbing only happens in business associates. |
| D．Phubbing is the act of focusing on people instead of phones. |
| A．Phubbing would benefit relationship. |
| B．It is polite to phub when meeting friends. |
| C．People don’t need eye contact to show their caring. |
| D．Phone should be put aside when they meet their friends. |
| A．They are bored. | B．They think it a fashion to phub. |
| C．They are addicted to their phones. | D．They want to check their social media. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Protested. | C．Focused. | D．Ignored. |
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