中考英语阅读理解专题练习《热点话题》(含答案).pdf

2020年中考英语阅读理解专题练习《热点话题》

新科技

Passage1(XXXX台州)

Brooke wanted a doll house and some sugar cookies. So the 6yearold asked Alexa to get them. Alexa wasn't her mom or babysitter. It was a voiceactivated home assistant powered by AI(人工智能). And it made Brooke's wishes come true. A few days later, much to her parents' surprise, a $170 dollhouse and four pounds of cookies showed up. They ate the cookies and gave away the dollhouse to a local hospital. And that's not the end of the story. When a news reporter told the story of what happened on TV, Alexa devices(设备)in many listeners' homes woke up and tried to order dollhouses!

Alexa isn't the only AI willing to serve you. Apple Homepod has Siri, Google Home has its Assistant, and the upcoming Galaxy Home device will have Bixby. People who have these devices use them mainly for listening to music, checking the weather, and setting timers. According to a report from The Information, nowadays voice shopping is rare. But many scientists predict a boom(增长) in voice shopping in the near future. Is that a good thing?

________. You can shout out an order as soon as you think of it, even if you are cooking, cleaning, o r driving. In addition, people with disabilities who are unable to use a keyboard or mouse can shop without any help.

But voice shopping has its disadvantages. Unwanted dollhouses aren't the biggest problem. It's usually very easy to cancel an order or return products. The thing t hat worries some people is that these assistants are always listening. They have to be able to respond when you want them. So they listen for “Alexa”or “OK Google”or another order. When they hear it, they start recording the conversation. Some have worried about what happens to these recordings. Should companies be allowed to use them to learn about people's shopping habits? And what if someone hacks(入侵) the device? The CIA found a way to hack smart TVs to turn them into spies that listen all the time. Others could do the same with any smart device.

What do you think? Are you ready to start voice shopping?

( )1. From the passage, we know that Alexa ________．

A. can look after the baby

B. can cook delicious food

C. is a toy doll sold online

D. is one kind of AI device

( )2. The underlined word “rare”in Paragraph 2 probably means ________．

A. unusual

B. expensive

C. harmful

D. impossible

( )3. Which of the following is the best to fill in the “________”in Paragraph 3?

A. Convenience is the main advantage of voice shopping

B. The cost of voice shopping is lower than other ways

C. The popularity of voice shopping is increasing

D. The technology of voice shopping needs improving

( )4. Paragraph 4 mainly tells us that ________ when people try voice shopping.

A. AI sometimes forgets people's orders

B. personal information might be hacked

C. it's difficult to cancel or return products

D. the needs for products can't be satisfied

Passage2(XXXX宿迁)

Technology is developing fast and it has become an important part of our life. Then what will

the world be like in the future?

3D food will be both delicious and nutritious(有营养的). We can use 3D printers to print some basic materials. __①__ And we can go further. Scientists believe that we just need to turn on a printer in the kitchens and then we can enjoy our favourite food whenever we like.

__②__ 5G network will allow many more people to get information. Big companies like China Mobile and China Unicom will start to offer 5G. It is said that 5G promises download speeds 10 to 20 times faster than 4G. For example, we can download a film within just 1 second. But with a 4G network, it takes a few minutes. There will be much bandwidth(带宽) and we can get unlimited(无限的) information.

Underwater cities will provide more space. The earth is becoming more and more crowded. We may turn to underwater homes, which will be built as low as 15 kilometers below the sea. And the different temperatures at the different depths(深度) of the sea can be used to provide power for the homes.

__③__ For us common people on the earth, the dream of travelling around space will come true. In the coming years, spacecraft will be as popular as buses, trains and planes. We can leave our home and enter space to take an adventure(冒险). And even we will get used to living there.

A robot will be a part of life. Robots can do many of the same things as we humans do like driving cars. But they will be used in other areas as well. They will be able to think. They can tell the difference between right and wrong. They can feel sadness or joy. When we are lonely, they can have a talk with us like real friends.

__④__ In a word, just as Jules Verne said, “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.”

( )1. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the future world is TRUE?

A. 3D food will be easy to make but won't taste good.

B. With 5G, users will get only a little information.

C. Underwater cities will provide more living space.

D. A robot will do everything for us human beings.

( )2. Where can the sentence “Space tour will be a piece of cake.”be put?

A. ①

B. ②

C. ③

D. ④

( )3. What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A. People will live a hard life in the future

B. Technology will make our future better.

C. People will have no real friends in the future.

D. Technology will make no difference to our future.

( )4. Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A storybook.

B. A film poster.

C. A travel guide.

D. A science magazine.

Passage3(XXXX绍兴)

To help Japanese companies better deal with the increasing

number of foreigners visiting the country, Panasonic has created a

megaphone(扩音器) which is able to smartly translate Japanese into

English, Chinese and Korean.

Panasonic named the product “Megahonyaku”. It is a term for

the Japanese words for “megaphone”and “translate”，which actually makes a lot of sense because it's a megaphone that can translate Japanese into several other languages in real time. When a user speaks Japanese into the megaphone, it recognizes(辨认) and translates what is being said immediately, and outputs the words in English, Chinese or Korean.

It sounds amazing, and seeing it in action is wonderful, but Megahonyaku is not good enough. It cannot translate everything you say, as it only stores 300 common expressions, like “The train has been put off”or “Watch your step”. However, the Japanese company behind Megahonyaku promises to add new expressions regularly, which users can get on the Internet.

The machine was designed to be used in places like transport stations, airports and places of interest, where quick and exact announcements are needed most. Around 30 Japanese organizations, including the police and guides, have been trying out Megahonyaku for about one year, but Panasonic says it will come onto the market on December 20th. Instead of selling these speech translators, Panasonic plans on renting(出租) them out for less than $183 a month on a threeyear agreement, and offering users future improvements and necessary services.

Panasonic has also said that it may add support for other languages, like Russian, depending on customers' needs. Megahonyaku also includes a touch screen that allows users to choose the language they need their speech translated into.

( )1. Panasonic has produced Megahonyaku so that ________.

A. guides can translate Chinese into Japanese faster

B. Japanese companies can receive foreigners better

C. foreigners can talk with the Japanese freely

D. the Japanese can learn other languages easily

( )2. The third paragraph is mainly about the ________ of Megahonyaku.

A. invention

B. importance

C. disadvantage

D. history

( )3. It can be learnt from Paragraph 4 that Megahonyaku ________．

A. may be popular with the police

B. is widely used in private homes

C. will be sold on December 20th

D. stores about 30 foreign languages

( )4. According to the passage, Panasonic will ________ in the future.

A. sell Megahon yaku to foreign visitors

B. bring down the price of Megahonyaku

C. change the screen of Megahonyaku

D. improve Megahonyaku regularly

Passage4(XXXX广安)

Artificial intelligence(AI)(人工智能) is the ability of a computer program or a machine. The computer or the machine with AI can think and learn. It is also a field of study that tries to make computers “smart”. John McCarthy, a scientist, came up with(提出) the name “artificial intelligence”over 60 years ago. Many things such as learning and problem solving can be done by computers, though not in the same way as people do.

An unusual goal of AI research is to create special computer programs. They can learn, solve problems, and think logically(逻辑地). At present, AI can successfully understand human speech, recognize(识别) human faces, operate selfdriving cars and compete in some game systems like playing Chess. However, some people consider(认为) AI a danger to humans if it develops too

quickly. A famous British scientist also was not for this kind of technology.

Math is the basic language of AI. If students are good at math, they will be more likely to become successful AI designers(设计者) in the future. We need not only bright students but also average(普通的) students. As for(对于) average students, if they get enough math skills, they can also become successful AI designers. Besides, a good knowledge of computer science is also necessary for AI designing.

Scientists hope to create creative(有创造力的) and emotional(有情感的) AI. The AI can possibly understand human feelings or create art. Many ways and tools have been tried to discover this wide and exciting field.

( )1. From Paragraph 1, we know that ________．

A. all problems can be solved by computers

B. machines with AI can think and learn

C. AI has been around for only 60 years

D. AI works in the same way as people

( )2.According to the passage, what can't AI do at present?

A. Understand human speech.

B. Operate selfdriving cars.

C. Compete in some game systems.

D. Understand human feelings.

( )3. The underlined word “it”in Paragraph 2 refers to(指的是)________．

A. chess

B. a scientist

C. the danger

D. AI

( )4. According to the passage, if students want to become successful AI designers, they should learn ________ well.

A. math and art

B. art and technology

C. math and computer science

D. art and computer science

( )5. Paragraph 4 mainly tells us the scientists' ________ about AI.

A. wishes

B. worries

C. feelings

D. discoveries

Passage5(XXXX舟山)

Fresh green grass. Hundreds of colorful wild flowers. Water running into little pools. Birds making their homes in boxes. The 9，500squaremetre Augustenborg Botanical Garden may look just like any other wellorganized park but there's a difference. It lies on the roofs(屋顶) of industrial and office buildings in the city of Malm? in Sweden.

Green roofs are not a new invention. And now they are getting popular again. The common roofs of a modern city have endless black surfaces with no life or water. Perhaps that's why a garden on a roof becomes such a perfect choice for more and more people.

Green roofs are not just pretty. They also help to moderate the city temperature. The high temperatures on common roofs in the summer can make top floor flats uncomfortably hot. What is more, they play a part in making the cities hotter than the countryside around them, causing the “urban heatisland effect”. On a green roof, however, with its plants and water, temperatures change only a little, as they do in a park. This can greatly cut the costs of heating and cooling in the building below.

Also, a green roof takes in rain water, and protects the city drainage(排水) system. ________