高考英语外刊阅读模拟强化训练阅读理解专题二十一
①
King Charles III will dress like the captain of Britain’s ship of state for his coronation on Saturday, but he is really a figurehead, pinned to the sharp end of a vesl unsure of its destination. In this, if not much el, his Britannic majesty rembles his struggling subjects. While a coronation is a beginning that draws on the mystique of the past, Britain’s prent is all discontent and doldrums. When the fanfare is over and the flags are folded away, the cour to prosperity won’t be any clearer.
Britain isn’t a happy ship. Food prices ro 19% year-on-year in March, the sharpest increa since 1977. Rations are short, and the crew, especially its Scottish and Northern Irish members, is mutinous. Britain is the only Western European country with double-digit inflation. Eastern Europe’s inflation figures reflect the energy squeeze created by the post-Covid demand surge and the war in Ukraine. The same pressures have raid Britain’s energy costs, but its energy bills have been exacerbated by local factors, most lf-inflicted. Britain’s biggest export markets are the U.S. and the eurozone, and storms in both currency zones have simultaneously buffeted the pound. Brexit has marginally worned the economic situation by making trade with the European Union more cumbersome.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is committed to stabilizing the economy. He has raid income taxes to their highest level in 70 years, with people earning between £100,000 (about $126,000) and £125,000 a year effectively paying a marginal rate of 60%. This will alienate voters and accelerate brain drain. It won’t be enough to fix the National Health Service. True, in Britain the sick aren’t bankrupted by health insurers while they are in the hospital, but this is partially becau there aren’t enough beds in hospitals. The Covid-19 backlog has yet to clear, mortality rates are rising, and nurs and junior doctors, or interns, are on strike.
Charles III hopes that his coronation will cure one British institution, the monarchy, in the affections of his increasingly post-imperial, multicultural subjects. Mr. Sunak must repair veral institutions and reposition Britain in the world. He has announced new drilling in the North Sea gas fields and canceled Boris Johnson’s ban on fracking. In late March, he cured Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal, making Britain the first European member of the free-trade bloc known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Negotiations on a free-trade deal with India are reportedly almost complete.
It is time yet again for Britain to sink or swim. Like Germany and France, the U.K. must compete for the growing markets of Asia or go under. Like France, the country aspires to be a “pivot state,” an infl
uential, cond-tier power in the emerging multipolar world. As the flag follows trade, the British-American alliance, the linchpin of Britain’s 20th-century strategy, will be tested. Charles III will not, like George III, become a king who lost America. But America may lo a reliable ally as the trade winds carry Britain east.
【The Wall Street Journal(May 6, 2023)】
1.What does the author think of King Charles III’s following reign?
A. Hopeful
B. Prosperous
C. Struggling
芳华依旧D. Smooth
2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “exacerbated” in paragraph 2?
A. covered
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B. aggravated
C. replaced
D. deleted
3. Which of the following measurements adopted by Mr. Sunak is effective?
A. Rai income taxes to the highest level
B. Deal with the Covid-19 backlog swiftly
C. Lay off the nurs and junior doctors who are on strike
D. Secure Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal
4. Why does the author say “ the British-American alliance will be tested”?
A. The U.K. is not a reliable ally any more in America
B. King Charles III can’t cure British Monarchy
C. The U.K. must compete for the growing markets of Asia
D. The U.K. is an influential power in the multipolar world
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②
In nine scenarios out of 10, it will likely suit the parties to the Hollywood writers’ walkout to
kludge together a deal so they can get back to work churning out the shows demanded by streaming outlets.
But the 10th scenario is ugly for writers. It forces the industry to confront the artificial-intelligence opportunity to replace much of what writers do, which is already algorithmic.
The subject has been missing from almost every news account, but not from the minds of show-biz execs attending this week’s Milken conference in Los Angeles, who were positively chortling about the opportunity. The BBC figured it out, commissioning ChatGPT to compo plausible opening monologues for the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and other late-night programs put on pau by the strike.
Understandable is the indignation of journeyman writers. Employment is up, earnings are up in the streaming era, but so is gig-like uncertainty, forcing many to hold down day jobs as other aspiring artists do. But wanting a full-time job plus benefits is not the same as someone having an obligation to confer them on you.
Surprising, in the press coverage, is how many cite their skin color, gender and xual orientation as if the are bargaining chips. Audiences don’t care. They may be excited by an interesting show about a gender-fluid person of color but they aren’t excited by a boring show written by one.
This attitude does not bode well. I recently asked ChatGPT-3 an esoteric question about which news accounts have published thousands of words: What is the connection between the 1987 murder of private eye Dan Morgan and Britain’s 2011 phone-hacking scandal? OpenAI’s Large Language Model got every particular wrong, starting with a faulty premi. But its answer was also plausible and inventive, which，suggests ChatGPT will be suitable for creating TV plots long before it’s suitable for big-league news reporting and analysis.
Transformed might even be the inept recommendation engines ud by Netflix and others. If AI can’t find us a show we’ll like, maybe it can create one, and instantly to our specifications once CGI is good enough to provide a fake Tom Hanks along with fake scenery.
My own guess is that this problem will be transitional. One day we’re told every will child will have an AI friend and confidante, but I suspect tomorrow’s kids, from an early age, will also effortlessly interpolate (as we can’t) that AI is a soulless word machine and manage the relationship accordingly.
All this lies in the future. In one consistent pattern of the digital age, a thin layer of Hollywood superstar writers, as creators and owners of the important shows, the ones that impress with their nuance, originality and intelligence, will capture most of the rewards. The eight-figure paychecks will continue to flow.
Today’s frisson of solidarity with journeyman colleagues is likely to wear off after a few weeks. After all, they have interesting work to get back to, cultivating their valuable, emotionally resonant and highly investable franchis. And a big job is beckoning: how to adapt artificial intelligence to improve the quality and productivity of their inspirations.
【The Wall Street Journal(May 6, 2023)】
1.According to the passage, what put the Hollywood writers’ strike on pau?
A.The demand of streaming outlets and every news account
B.The AI opportunity to replace much of what writers do
C. the minds of show-biz executives
D. the plausible opening monologue for the programs
2. What does “this attitude” mean in paragraph 6?
A. the press is likely to cite writer’s skin color and gender
B. skin color, gender and xual orientation are not bargaining chips
C. Audiences only care about if a show is interesting or not instead of the writer’s background
D. Hollywood writers are not as aspiring as other artists
3. Why does the author mention a fake Tom Hanks?
A. to indicate how powerful AI will be in the future
B. to criticize how bad the recommendation engines ud by Netflix are
C. to show how easy to plot a creative TV
D. to discuss how skillful a celebrated actor is
4. Which of the following statement is true according to the author’s guess?
A. today’s children will have an AI friend and know how to get along well with them
B. the majority of Hollywood writers can make a fortune using AI
C. AI will be suitable for creating TV plots
D. the Hollywood strike will not last long and the writers will cooperate with AI some day
③
When Sammy Palazzolo goes out, people constantly ask to e her phone. The 18-year-old often obliges, flipping it open and handing it over.有朋友真好作文
In late 2022, Ms. Palazzolo and some of her dorm-mates at the University of Illinois were bemoaning their smartphone addictions.“We were talking about how we [felt] like slaves to our phones, like robot
s who keep scrolling and scrolling, even when we’re out at parties. The group hatched a plan to do something about it. The next day, they went flip-phone shopping at Walmart. Ms. Palazzolo ended up with a $40 AT&T Cingular Flex.
Now the freshman advertising major evangelizes flip phones on TikTok, with posts about bringing her “dumb”phone to social events instead of her iPhone. Nokia recently nt her its $90 2780 for free, plus 44 more to give away to friends and social-media followers.
While some Gen Zers might be buying smart phones that flip and fold, like the $1,000 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, the chatter online centers on“dumb”models with few capabilities. The devices are experiencing a renaissance as budget cond phones—allowing you to detach from constant notifications and the lure of infinite scroll, without losing the ability to nd texts and make calls in an emergency.
Young people aren’t the only fans. Nokia lls tens of thousands of its flip phones each month in the U.S., according to Lars Silberbauer, chief marketing officer of HMD Global, the Finnish manufacturer of Nokia phones. Sales are growing across demographics, he said. “It’s not a small trend.”以义为利
Modern models improve on the ones you might remember. Most come with features like Bluetooth, 4
G and contemporary cameras, even if they retain the design (and brawny batteries) of early relics. Some have an internet browr but employ an operating system that doesn’t support apps like Instagram and TikTok. What are you going to scroll now?
Osamah Qatanani, a 23-year-old content strategist in New York City, carries both an iPhone and a basic flip phone and estimates his usage is split 50-50. He views his “dumb” phone purely as a means for his clost contacts to reach him. “Other than that,” he said, “there’s no work emails, no Instagram updates, nothing from Facebook, nothing from TikTok. Nothing from anyone except the people who are important to you.”
For some, the trend is vindicating. Melissa Range, 49, an associate professor of English at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., never made the switch to a smart phone. Sometimes, she said, her flip phone’s limitations make things tough. “If I get lost, I have to u my wits or ask someone for directions,” she said. But for the most part, Prof. Range values its simplicity. “I have a really busy job, and I’m pulled in a lot of directions,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to give her remaining attention to a phone. Like Ms. Palazzolo, Prof. Range gets constant comments on her flip phone. People almost sound wistful, she said, when they tell her, “I wish I could get rid of my smartphone.”
【The Wall Street Journal(May 6, 2023)】
1. Why did Ms. Palazzolo u “dumb”phone instead of iPhone?
A. iPhone is hard to handle and scroll
B. she wanted to stop being addicted to her smartphone
C. the flip-phone shops at Walmart had no iPhones in stock
D. it is a trend on TikTok to u “dumb”phone
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2. The underlined phra “detach from” can best be replaced by________
A. keep track of
B. be informed of
C. be accud of
D. get rid of
3. Which of the following statements is wrong concerning Nokia phones?
A. Modern models feature Bluetooth, 4G and contemporary cameras
B. the design of early generations is maintained
C. young people are more likely to follow the trend to buy modern Nokia phone
D. they didn’t support apps like Instagram and TikTok
4. What can we learn from Range’s words in the last paragraph?
A. flip phones are definitely making our lives tough and inconvenient
B. there will be more and more people turning to flip phones
C. she was constantly distracted from her work by her flip phone
D. it is a wistful choice to switch your smartphone to flip phones
答案
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CBDC
BCAD
BDCB
