Many of the<br/>customs and ______ of minority groups are as old as the hills. A: corridors B: rituals C: microphones D: furnaces

What did jazz musicians do for all of the modern music groups of today? A: . Began to incorporate poetry into their music B: . They were the first to use microphones C: . Introduce vocal harmony D: . Created the drum set

Bill and Jenny are talking about the preparations for a meeting. Watch the video clip and tick (√) the items that are covered in the conversation A: conference room B: meeting agenda C: presentation notes D: microphones and speakers E: projector F: air tickets

She always knew her son was talented because_________. A: he dissected the electronic components out of a radio B: he behaved differently from an ordinary school child C: he spent his spare time repairing microphones and radios D: he showed an aptitude in building electronic appliances

Why did the U.S. Navy set up underwater microphones around the world in the 1960s A: To listen for changes in ocean structure. B: To listen for changes of ocean currents or volcanic activity. C: To make sure whether there was a giant squid deep in the ocean. D: To follow the track of the Soviet warships under water.

Modern technology may not haveimproved the world all that much but it certainly has made life noisier. Unruffledmotorcycles, blaring car alarms, and roving boom boxes come first, second, andthird on my list of most obnoxious noise offenders, but everyone could come upwith his own version of aural hell – if he could just find a quiet spot toponder the matter. Yet what technology has done, othertechnology is now starting to undo, using computer power, to zap thoseear-splitting noises into silence. Previously silence-seekers had littlerecourse except to stay inside, close the windows, and plug their ears.Remedies like these are quaintly termed “passive” systems, because they placephysical barriers against the unwanted sound. Now computer technology isproducing a far more effective “active” system, which doesn’t just contain,deflect, or mask the noise, but annihilates it electronically. The system works by countering theoffending noise with “anti-noise”, a somewhat sinister-sounding term that callsto mind antimatter, black holes, and other Popular Science mindbenders but thatactually refers to something quite simple. Just as a wave on a pond isflattened when it merges with a trough that is its exact opposite (or mirrorimage), so can a sound wave be negated by meeting its opposite. This general theory of soundcancellation has been around since the 1930s. In the fifties and sixties itmade for a kind of magic trick among laboratory acousticians playing aroundwith the first clunky mainframe computers. The advent of low-cost high-powermicroprocessors has made active noise-cancellation systems a commercialpossibility, and a handful of small electronics firms in the United States and abroad are bringing the first ones onto the silence market. Silence buffs might be hoping that the noise-canceling apparatus will takethe shape of the 44 Magnum wielded by Dirty Harry, but in fact active soundcontrol is not quite that active. The system might more properly be describedas reactive, in that it responds to sound waves already headed toward humanears. In the configuration that is usual for such systems microphones detectthe noise signal and send it to the system’s microprocessor, which almostinstantly models it and creates its inverse for loudspeakers to fire at theoriginal. Because the two sounds occupy the same range of frequencies andtones, the inverse sounds exactly like the noise it is to eliminate, theanti-noise canceling Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is heard as Beethoven’s Fifth.The only difference is that every positive pressure produced on the air by theorchestra is matched by a negative pressure produced by the computer, and everynegative pressure is matched by a positive, thereby silencing the sound. The systemis most effective as a kind of muffler, in which microphones, micro-processor,and loudspeaker are all in a unit encasing the device that produces the sound,stifling it at its source. But it can work as a headset, too, negating thesound at the last moment before it disturbs one’s peace of mind. 1. The writer holds that( ). A. modern technology has disturbed thequiet life of the people B. moderntechnology has made people indifferent to noise pollution C. moderntechnology has made the present world quieter than before D.modern technology has failed to solve the problem of noise pollution 2. According to the passage,an active noise-cancellation system ( ). A. contains noise rather than negates it B. eliminates noise rather than muffles it C. deflects noise rather than baffles it D. holds noise back rather than stifles it 3. In paragraph 5 the word “buffs”means ( ). A. settlers B.enthusiasts C. buyers D. manufacturers 4. Which of the followingstatements is NOT true according to the passage? ( ) A.In the past, people sometimes plugged their ears to fight against the offendingnoise. B. An active noise-cancellation systemfollows the principle of a wave being flattened by meeting its exact opposite. C. The first active noise-cancellationsystem was made in the 1930s. D. Active noise-cancellation systems are nowavailable on the market. 5. Activenoise-cancellation systems require ( ). A. microphones B.microprocessors C.loudspeakers D. all of theabove

Section B (10%)Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.Bots in Our HomesA) In the 2013 movie “Her”, Theodore Twombly, a lonely writer, falls in love with a digital assistant designed to meet his every need. She sorts emails, helps get a book published, provides personal advice, and ultimately becomes his girlfriend. The assistant, Samantha, is AI software capable of learning at an astonishing pace.B) Samantha will remain in the realm of science fiction for at least another decade, but less-functional digital assistants, called bots, are already here. These will be the most amazing technology advances we see in our homes in the years ahead.C) Among the best sellers of the holiday season were Amazon.com’s Echo and Google Home. These bots talk to their users through speakers, and their built-in microphones hear from across a room. When Echo hears the name “Alexa”, its LED ring lights up in the direction of the user to acknowledge that it is listening. It answers questions, plays music, orders Amazon products, and tells jokes. Google’s Home can also manage Google accounts, read and write emails, and keep track of calendars and notes.D) Google and Amazon have both opened up their devices to third-party developers — who in turn have added the abilities to order pizza, book tickets, turn on lights and make phone calls. We will soon see these bots connected to health and fitness devices so that they can help people devise better exercise regimens and remember to take their medicine. And they will control the dishwasher and the microwave, track what is left in the refrigerator and order an ambulance in a case of emergency.E) Long ago, our home appliances became electrified. Soon, they will be “cognified”: Integrated into artificially intelligent systems that are accessed through voice commands. We will be able to talk to our machines in a way that seems natural. Microsoft has developed a voice-recognition technology that can transcribe speech and translate it into multiple languages. Google has demonstrated a voice-synthesis capability that is hard to differentiate from human. Our bots will tell our ovens how we want our food to be cooked and ask us questions on its behalf.F) This has become possible because of advances in artificial intelligence, or AI In particular, a field called deep learning allows machines to learn through neural networks — in which information is processed in layers and the connections between these layers are strengthened based on experience. In short, they learn much like a human brain. As a child learns to recognize objects such as its parents, toys and animals, neural networks, too, learn by looking at examples and forming associations. Google’s AI software learned to recognize a cat, a furry creature with two eyes and whiskers, after looking at 10 million examples of cats.G) It is all about data and example; that is how machines — and humans — learn. This is why the tech industry is rushing to get its bots into the marketplace and are pricing them at a low $150 or less: The more devices that are in use, the more they will learn collectively, and the smarter the technology gets. Every time you search YouTube for a cute cat video and pick one to watch, Google learns what you consider to be cute. Every time you ask Alexa a question and accept the answer, it learns what your interests are and the best way of responding to your questions.H) By listening to everything that is happening in your house, as these bots do, they learn how we think, live, work and play. They are gathering massive amounts of data about us. And that raises a dark side of this technology: The privacy risks and possible misuse by technology companies. Neither Amazon nor Google explains what it is doing with all of the data it gathers and how it will protect us from hackers who exploit weaknesses in the infrastructure leading to its servers.I) Of even greater concern is the dependency we are building on these technologies: We are beginning to depend on them for knowledge and advice and even emotional support. The relationship between Theodore Twombly and Samantha doesn’t turn out very well. She outgrows him in intelligence and maturity. And she confesses to having relationships with thousands of others before she abandons Twombly for a superior, digital life form.J) We surely don’t need to worry yet about our bots becoming smarter than we are. But we already have cause for worry over one-sided relationships. For years, people have been confessing to having feelings for their Roomba vacuum cleaners — which don’t create even an illusion of conversation. A 2007 study documented that some people had formed a bond with their Roombas that “manifested itself through happiness experienced with cleaning”. And according to a recent report in New Scientist, hundreds of thousands of people say “Good morning” to Alexa every day, a half-million people have professed their love for it, and more than 250,000 have proposed marriage to it. K)I expect that we are all going to be suckers for our digital friends. Don’t you feel obliged to thank Siri on your iPhone after it answers your questions? I do, and have done so. 41. Bots will be able to provide more services in the future like answering the phone, planning fitness programs.______ 42. Robot companies set low prices for their products in order to advance machine learning and make them more intelligent.______ 43. The image of keeping a capable digital assistant at home was depicted in a science fiction movie.______ 44. Bots can be programmed to learn like a human brain; they can analyze information and recognize objects.______ 45. Bots, the real digital assistants, will have an increased presence in the homes of the future.______ 46. Our growing dependency on home bots has aroused some people’s concern.______ 47. Bots are now able to serve the users in multiple ways from answering questions to checking emails.______ 48. There have been reports and studies about people’s unusual intimacy with their home bots.______ 49. We will be able to talk with our household appliances in different languages in the future.______ 50. Using bots in our homes can be a threat, posing new dangers to both our privacy and our security.______